


Out of the Ordinary

by Erulisse17



Series: Family Is What You Make It [1]
Category: Gokusen - All Media Types
Genre: Canon - TV, Episode Tag, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Happy Ending, High School, Shin's point of view, Teacher-Student Relationship, clueless yankumi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-21
Updated: 2014-06-23
Packaged: 2018-01-02 06:29:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 109,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1053590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erulisse17/pseuds/Erulisse17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sawada Shin was tired. Tired of the same kinds of teachers, the same kinds of adults, pretending they care. This new teacher with her glasses and pigtails was just the same. Although, something about her seems...odd. Different. Could she...? Nah. Never.<br/>A retelling of the Gokusen j-drama from Shin's point of view</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Almost All Adults Are Awful

**Author’s Note:**

**Hello! So, this is my first story on Archive of Our Own, and it’s based on the first season of the Japanese drama version of Gokusen. A few explanations:**

  * **If you don’t know, the Japanese way to announce names is last name first, then first name. (So Shin and Kumiko are first names, Sawada and Yamaguchi are last names.**
  * **Sawatari Goro is the Vice Principal of the school, which can also be translated as Head Teacher. I switch between both just to keep things lively.**
  * **‘Baka’ is usually the first word anyone who watches anime or j-dramas learns because it’s said so often. It means ‘idiot’. Plus, it’s fun to say.**
  * **There’s a little bit of swearing, but that’s mainly in keeping with the characters and quoting the episode.**
  * **If you have any questions let me know. I’ll be doing this episode by episode, so expect more!**
  * **Also, I don’t own any of this. I wouldn’t mind owning Matsumoto Jun though. Kimi wa Petto anyone?**



* * *

 

Sawada Shin was tired.

It seemed like he was always tired. He’d sleep in, be late to school, which didn’t really matter since the only thing he did at school was sleep anyways. At times of deep introspection, which were few, since looking back on his life and into his own psyche wasn’t pleasant, Shin knew that he wasn’t just tired, he was weary. World weary. He wasn’t tired because he didn’t sleep enough, he was tired of the teachers, of the school, of the adults, of his parents.

‘All adults are awful’. _Nice alliteration_ , he silently congratulated himself as he wandered into the school assembly.  All eyes turned to him, and he stretched and yawned to show that he didn’t care about the judgment and disgust from old teachers and students, and was basking in the curiosity of the few new ones. Speaking of the new ones, was that teacher onstage wearing a track suit?

 _Weird_ , he thought to himself, strolling through the path the other students made for him. When he reached Kuma, Uchi, and the others, he lazily spared the new teacher a single look. Dorky was his first impression. Naïve was his second. From her pigtails and glasses to her red jerseys, this teacher declared that she had no clue what she was in for. Shin snorted a little, then ignored her.

Later in class, his suspicions were confirmed. She walked in with an absurd amount of enthusiasm, which made Shin even more tired just to watch. Obviously she had some ridiculous notion of how this would be the best year ever, and she would be the best teacher ever, and they would be the best class ever. When she shouted for quiet, Shin raised his head to see how she reacted to Kuma letting her know that their conversations were more important that her ‘reintroduction’. Although she seemed unmoved by his threat to ‘mess her up’, Shin was sure she’d catch on to the fact that she would _never_ have control in this classroom. He rolled his eyes from his desk in the back and tried to go back to sleep. He could hear the chalk on the board as she announced her name (Yamaguchi Kumiko – _Dorky_ , Shin thought), her age (23 – _Totally clueless_ ), and that she was single ( _Why would we care?_ ).

From the familiar rustling sound, his classmates were lobbing spitballs and paper airplanes at her, giving her the traditional 3-D welcome. Shin also knew how this would turn out. The same, tired old reactions. The worthless teachers would shout and scream and threaten them with detention or insult them by saying they would never succeed in life unless they listened up. The clueless teachers would beg and plead and also tell them that unless they listened, they wouldn’t succeed in life. His classmates would ignore them and increase the torment until the worthless teachers stormed out shouting or the clueless ones ran out crying.

He raised his head to see if this one had started crying yet. It was then he saw Kuma wind up to throw a baseball at her. Before he could yell out, warn Kuma that physically hurting a teacher would get them all in trouble, or warn the teacher (not that he cared about her personally, she was a teacher after all, but having her dreams shattered by a concussion would probably not work out in their favor either), Kuma launched the ball straight at the woman’s head. Shin waited for the sickening thunk, for the crying or screaming, and instead saw the teacher pause, put her hand up, and catch the hurling ball without looking away from the chalkboard. 3-D then experienced a rare moment of complete silence, as everyone stared at her in shock, surprise, and amazement. She turned around slowly, and Shin saw the unexpected steel in her eyes as she stared at the students, like she had dealt with potential violence and insubordination before, and was getting ready to snap out some punishment.

Then, almost like a switch, her eyes widened, her face got clueless again, and she spoke in a high, girlish voice.

“Oh my!” She squeaked, “This is a baseball! That’s kind of dangerous! Let’s not do things like that, kay?” Then turned back to the board and continued as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

All Shin could do was stare. This was…new. Different. Unexpected. Then he shook his head. It was just a fluke. A coincidence. She was exactly the same as all the other clueless teachers that had shown up. She would pretend to be nice, then as soon as she saw that 3-D was hopeless, she’d give up, just like everyone else. _All it would take was time_ , he said to himself.

And yet, when the other guys were taking bets on her never coming back, he passed. He didn’t bet on stupid things anyway, but he had a feeling she wasn’t scared off. Probably too ridiculously enthusiastic to realize the futility of it all.

He was tempted to collect bets from his friends when she walked in the next day and started blathering about the value of x. The only weird thing she did that day was talk like some scary yakuza from a movie, demanding that they all listen “cuz it’s common courtesy!”. He wondered if she had got that from a book or something. “How to Gain Respect From Bad Students By Talking Like a Mob Boss”. He snorted, then glanced at his watch and saw it was two minutes till lunch. He stood up, stretched and left, ignoring the cries of “Hey, we’re in the middle of class!” Baka. What teacher didn’t count down the minutes until their time with 3-D was over?

“Hey wait! Um," She glanced down at her clipboard. "Sawada-kun.” Great. She knew his name now. She stared at him expectantly. He rolled his head towards her, pointed at his watch, listened for the bell, and walked away. No point in wasting words on a teacher.

When she walked onto the roof and ‘asked’ them if they knew what happened to the Head Teacher’s money, Sawada was back in familiar territory. Money was missing and everyone immediately suspected them. Time to set some things straight with the new teacher.

“So you suspect us of stealing it?”

“Oh, no, I didn’t mean that. Perhaps someone you guys know…”

Before Kuma could do anything rash, Shin told her “Even if we knew, we wouldn’t sell him out.”

She smiled tightly, apologized, and turned to leave.

 _Yeah, you better run_. He thought at her. But then, she turned back, and without a hint of fear, asked for the 500 yen each they owed the delivery kid. Even when the guys advanced and shouted at her, she just stuck out her hand toward Uchi and asked for the money again. Uchi took out the coin and dropped it, daring her to pick it up.

“Don’t throw your parents’ hard earned money around!” The steel in her eyes and voice had returned, making the surrounding guys take an involuntary step back. Shin stared in disbelief as she somehow convinced everyone to give her the money and skipped off like she hadn’t just cowed a group of high school kids with just her voice.

From then on, they couldn’t get rid of her. The next day, she showed up, grinning like an idiot, plopped herself down in the middle of their lunch, and starting chatting away like she was best friends with all of them. Shin decided to ignore her. Even when the Head Teacher showed up, dragged Kuma off, and accused him of stealing and lying, she still followed them and pretended like she cared. Like she believed them. He realized that she had probably only eaten lunch with them to try and find out who was guilty.

“You pretend to be nice and play dirty tricks.” Shin sneered at her. “You _adults_.” He spat the word out.

“We won’t be fooled anymore.” He took Kuma and went to find the rest of the guys, leaving clueless teacher behind. Maybe he should classify her as worthless teacher now, since she finally fit back into the categories Shin was used to. He didn’t like how there were only those two kinds of teachers, but at least they were predictable.

Which is why he was so irritated and shocked to find her sloshing through the river after school, for all the world like she actually believed Kuma. By the look on Kuma’s face, he had obviously told her that the bag was in the river somewhere, and was feeling guilty that she believed him. Shin seized on the thought. This was probably another trick. Another way to make Kuma confess and prove that students were trash and teachers were always right. He knew it was a stretch to jump from one conclusion to the next, but he had been betrayed, fooled, and tricked too many times to start trusting adults now.

So he called Kuma and went in search of distractions. But whether it was pool, karaoke, movies, or even food, he could tell that Kuma was still feeling guilty. He even told Kuma that that teacher, that all teachers, shouldn’t be believed. But he wasn’t surprised when Kuma snuck out in the early morning and headed for the Sakura River.

 _Fine_ , he thought. _Let Kuma see that the teacher was just pretending. She’s probably miles away in a warm bed right now. No one in their right mind would wander around a river all night anyway._

He followed Kuma at a distance, then stopped in utter disbelief. She was there. She had been there all night. She looked like it anyways, face dirty, clothes soaking wet. When Kuma rushed down, Shin waited for her to guilt him into confessing. Something along the lines of ‘Look how miserable I am! I went through this for unworthy you! Admit you lied!’. But all she did was look at him for a moment, then told him to help look for the bag. Then she went back to plowing through the water and picking up junk with a resolute determination.

It wasn’t until he heard Kuma shout, “I lied! It was a big fat lie! I stole it,” that Shin realized it _must_ have been a trick, because it worked. Kuma confessed, and she would tell Head Teacher, who’d give her a better class and expel the lying trash they all thought 3-D students were. Reward the teacher, punish the kids. Protect the school, get rid of the students. He had seen it in his old school when they kicked him out, in this school with Kurosaki, at home with his father. Sacrifice anything to protect their good name.

Too late, Shin shouted Kuma’s name and rushed down.

“What are you saying?! Do you know what will happen if you tell these things to a teacher! You’ll get kicked out!”

“I know,” Kuma murmured.

“You don’t know!” He screamed. He could see the consequences. He knew the consequences of getting kicked out of school. Even if Kuma’s parents didn’t throw him out, it’d probably hurt the restaurant, hurt his parents, hurt his brother and sister. Kuma couldn’t graduate, couldn’t have a future. Their little group would be broken, make it easier for the others to do things to get expelled too. He could see that future, and he wanted to do anything to protect Kuma from it.

“You believe us, huh? You’re our teacher, huh? Don’t make me laugh!” His eyes burned as he told her what he had really learned in school. “We don’t believe what teachers say. This stupid charade, forcing Kuma to confess, you’ll turn him in, won’t you? You’ll do anything to save the school’s reputation, won’t you?!” He stood, breathing heavily, waiting for her to deny it, to confirm it, to laugh at them , to do something! But all she did was stare at the water.

When she did look up, she looked at Kuma, and spoke as if she hadn’t heard Shin at all.

“You really did it?” She asked softly.

“Kuma!” _Don’t do it Kuma, don’t give her what she wants. She’s the enemy, remember!_

He heard from behind him, just as softly. “Yeah. Head Teacher dropped it near the bathroom. He always picked on us, so I wanted to get back at him.”

Shin couldn’t take it anymore. He turned away from them and glared at the hillside, trying to think how he could salvage this at all. She was still playing the nice act, too! Asking Kuma to return the money, pretending to believe him when he told her about the guys who beat him up and stole it.

“The money’s gone. What’re you going to do, huh? Sell him out?” Shin sneered. It was the only thing she could do, to save her own ass.

She jumped right out of Shin’s box of expectations with what she said next.

“I’ll get the money back.”

Kuma and Shin stared. “You ain’t got a chance!” Kuma protested.

“I said I’ll get it back!” She shouted in her scary mob voice.

“But first,” She said quietly, wading towards Kuma, “Let me hit you once.”

“Wha-” was all Kuma managed to get out before a resounding punch sent him flying backwards.

Shin openly gaped. He couldn’t have moved Kuma that far if he had five other guys and was pushing with both hands. She had sent him back with one blow. _Who the hell is she?_

“Don’t you ever do anything rotten like stealing!” She shouted. “You guys are a disgrace to delinquents! Making fun of teachers is fine, getting in fights is fine, but don’t ever do anything cowardly! Be delinquents with pride and dignity!” She sniffed, told them to get to school, then sloshed off.

He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t even begin to process what she had told him. It was like they had insulted her personally, like _she_ was the delinquent! Like she didn’t mind who they were, but cared about how they… acted. ‘With pride and dignity!’ she had said. He tried to think why that sounded so strange, then realized why. No adult ever cared why he did things. If he acted with pride and dignity. His father had expected him to behave and not make trouble. His teachers expected him to be trouble. And she…wait, where did she go?

Running after her as fast as he could, he tried to think of why he was chasing her. Curiosity, or maybe to warn her that she was insane. The excuse he settled on was that he could call an ambulance when he found her broken body. That vision suddenly made him run faster. Except, when he arrived at the gang’s hideout, he found the giant steel door kicked in and all of the hardened criminals piled on the floor, unconscious. It looked like the Hulk had passed through. He looked around, but could see no sign of any pigtails or track suits.

Track suit. Track. The school! Kuma was getting expelled today if the money wasn’t found! He took off towards Shirokin and arrived just as the Head Teacher had denounced Kuma for stealing and was forcing him to apologize for offending everyone and ruining the school’s good name. Shin at least knew that the Head Teacher wasn’t going to do anything out of the ordinary. He looked around. No pigtails or track suit here either.

“Do the right thing, Kuma.” They were like her words, but without her passion behind them. Without anything personal behind them.

When the Assistant Teacher tried to kick the back of Kuma’s knees so he would kneel, things had gone far enough. His classmates rushed in from one side and he barreled through the students from the other, heading toward Kuma and the rotten teachers around him. The Head Teacher had just taken refuge on the stage and threatened expulsion for all of them when a steely voice boomed over the noise.

“Don’t lay a hand on my students!”

The mob quieted at the sound of protection and strength in her shout. Shin turned and saw her head towards the stage, with no sign of blood or bruises or broken bones. She parted through the mass of students confidently, then paused at the front and held up the yellow bag she was carrying.

“Head Teacher. I found this. It’s the money bag you were in charge of, right?” Kuma and Shin glanced at each other, Kuma nodding to confirm it was the bag he had stolen. And it looked full.

“Where did you find this?” Head Teacher Sawatari demanded. Shin furrowed his brows. _Here it comes. Sell Kuma out, get a nice little reward for yourself, maybe keep some of the cash and say he spent it. Come on, teacher, I know what you’re going to do._

But he was finding that this teacher never did what he predicted.

“I found it in the trash can near the boys’ bathroom. See? Everyone makes mistakes!” She then turned to her formerly combative class.

“Ok, let’s go! Come on, back in line.” Pushing and shoving, she managed to get a general movement towards their side of the gym.

“But, the money...” Kuma started, at a loss as to how she found the bag, how she had gotten the money, about all of it. Shin, just as confused, waited for her to tell Kuma that he owed her now, that if he messed up again, he was out for sure. But no. She said nothing of the sort.

“Shut it.” She muttered out of the side of her mouth. “Are you trying to embarrass me?”

And that was it. Like searching in a river all night, and running towards a gang hideout, and recovering 500,000 yen from thugs was what she was expected to do. Like she had wanted to do it. And then she marched up onstage and gave the most ridiculous speech any teacher had made in that gym. Ever.

“3-D may be a hopeless case, but I’m the homeroom teacher of this hopeless case. This must be fate. You guys, I will take care of you to the end!”

Shin started to walk away. All this enthusiasm was making him tired.

“No matter what happens, I’ll make sure every one of you graduates!” She declared.

He paused. She made it sound like a challenge. He turned and looked her in the eyes. _I accept,_ he told her silently. _You say that now, but you’ll give up on us eventually. They all do._

And yet, that night as he lay in bed, a different version of his alliteration came to mind.

 

_Almost_ all adults are awful. 


	2. Friendship is Futile

Author’s Note:

Hello! It’s a second installment! A miracle by all accounts. A few notes:

  * I totally made Riku up. They don’t mention the name of the friend Shin defends at his old school in the drama, nor his reaction to being defended. I took some artistic license with that.
  * A few puns. Kuma’s real name is Kumai, but ‘Kuma’ means ‘bear’, and since he looks and eats like one, it fits.
  * Head Teacher/ Vice Principal’s name is Sawatari Goro. The word for monkey is ‘Saru’, so subbing it in for Sawa is calling him Monkey Man. Or Monkey-face. Or Head Monkey, as I call him in here.
  * You all probably know this, but honorifics (suffixes) added to names indicate status or relationship. ‘-kun’ means an older person addressing a younger person (usually a boy), used frequently between teachers and students. ‘-chan’ is mostly for girls and makes a name cuter, hence why Minami’s girlfriend is Ayumi-chan. ‘-sensei’ traditionally means teacher.
  * The fact that her students give her a nickname without an honorific means they’re being a bit rude, as well as treating her like an equal. And that basically sums up 3-D.
  * Again, I don’t own any of this.



* * *

 

Sawada Shin was resting.

He liked laying on the grass and listening to the sounds of the river, the wind, the distant steps of people crossing the bridge. He often left his house early (no one was there but him anyways) and took naps on the hillside. With his eyes closed, he could forget about the real world for a moment. He could imagine he was somewhere far away, far from crowded cities, disappointed dads, terrible teachers, and annoying adults.

“SAWADA-KUN!!! GOOD MORNING!!!”

Speak of the devil. Shin cracked opened his eyes and turned toward the noise. There she was, grinning widely and looking like a dork. He sighed and turned away. If she was trying to make friends, yelling at him in the morning wasn’t the way to do it.

“Don’t be late, kay!” She shouted, then looked at her own watch, panicked, and ran off, obviously late herself. _Hypocrite_ , he thought, then paused as memories from last night, at this same river, came rushing back.

Her punching Kuma. Her speech about being delinquents with pride and dignity. The question came again. Who was she? Why did she do that? What did she want? Shin shook his head and went back to sleep. Even thinking about her was exhausting.

When he finally woke up, he realized he was late, but all the better. It wouldn’t do to have her think he actually listened to her or anything. He wandered onto campus and headed toward his classroom. He had just passed the announcement board when he stopped, thought a moment, then backtracked. There, on the ground by the board, as if somehow had hurriedly ripped it off, was a torn and wrinkled paper with _her_ head on some model’s body. “I want a man!” the paper declared, along with “Yeah, baby!”, “Boing boing!”, and “Yankumi Sux!”.

 _Yankumi?_ He wondered. Ah. Yamaguchi Kumiko. Yan-Kumi. Huh. It fit her somehow. He glanced down at the paper again. _That_ certainly didn’t. Shin shuddered a bit. Stupid Noda and his Photoshop. As he continued his walk to his classroom, he saw that Yankumi wasn’t the only victim. All the papers in the trash had Vice Principal’s head stuck on a monkey. Heh. The similarity between Sarutari (monkey-tari) and Sawatari (his actual name) was too easy for kids in his class to ignore.

He finally sauntered into his class halfway into the period. Yankumi looked up and seemed surprised that he was late.

“Sawada! I told you not to be late.” He gave her a glance that asked, ‘Yeah, so?’, then rolled his eyes and looked away. But when she had turned back to the board, he gave her a thoughtful stare. Maybe today he’d find out that she was just like all the other teachers. Or maybe she’d do something completely unexpected again. It unsettled him a bit to be unable to predict her actions. He could usually get a good read on people, but she seemed to cheerfully dodge all the normal tendencies that adults had. Annoying. But, it was a little interesting too.

“That stupid Head Teacher really ticks me off.” Uchi muttered, kicking Minami’s desk. “Shall we teach him a lesson?”

The other guys looked up eagerly. “Yeah!”

“Guys, I have the perfect idea!” Noda chimed in. Shin glanced up. It would be Noda’s idea.

The conversation turned to how the Head Teacher’s car was yellow like a banana, and how it didn’t stick out enough, and that it was sad and plain looking and they should decorate it so everyone would know it was Head Monkey’s car.

As they all ran for the locker that held all the spray paint, Shin opted out.

“Aw, why not?” Uchi whined.

“I’m tired. I’m going up to the roof.” As he found his favorite bench, he couldn’t help but guess at what would happen. He used to be great at predicting the future until Yankumi came along. He wondered how she would interrupt the normal process of suspicion and blaming and threats that the Vice Principal had established.

And as Sawatari stormed in and demanded to know who had horrendously disfigured his car, Shin watched with a slight grin as his predictions about what the Vice Principal would say were exactly right. It was also satisfying to see him all riled up. Serves the idiot right.

When the Head Teacher’s minion Washio demanded that Yamaguchi-sensei do something about her class, Yankumi also demanded to know if “they got the goods on them.”

 _How many yakuza movies does she watch?_ Shin wondered, as she hurriedly corrected herself and asked for evidence.

“Yeah! She’s right! You need evidence!” Uchi jumped on his desk and shouted. Shin realized with a start as the whole class joined in, that this was the first time they had agreed with a teacher in all three years at this high school. Maybe all the years of school ever.

“The evidence is _right there_!” The Vice Principal pointed at the drops of paint in the middle of the classroom. The energy deflated as the class realized they were good and caught. Shin grinned. He had also predicted someone tracking paint on the floor. He paused. Did he just hear Yankumi mutter, “You guys should have been more careful”? Whose side was she on anyway? She was a teacher, wasn’t she?

And yet, when they refused to say who the culprits were, she acted like she was proud of them or something. “You guys understand duty and compassion, don’t you? You _do_ have good sides!”

Weirdo.

“You shouldn’t sell out your friends, but the one responsible should have the guts to come forward.” There it was again. ‘Be delinquents with pride and dignity’.

And yet, when told she had to stay and watch them during detention, she protested with something about having a date. Hah! Her having a date was laughable. Plus, this was the proof Shin needed that she would put herself before her students.

And he was getting annoyed by the way she kept saying ‘friends’. Like they were all in kindergarten and were supposed to play nice and be friends because the teacher said so. Like being friends made everything fun and happy. Shin couldn’t help but think back to his first year. When he stood up for Riku because they were friends. When the teacher acted like teachers did and refused to apologize or even admit he was wrong for harassing Riku for something he didn’t do. When the unfairness of it was too much and he punched the teacher for being a worthless human being who only cared about himself. But the worst part of that memory was after he got expelled. When Riku was waiting for him outside the school office.

“I didn’t need your help! I could have managed on my own! Now I look like a pathetic weakling who can’t fight his own battles! What do you think, huh? You think you’re better than me? Screw you!”

Later, Shin would tell himself that Riku was just feeling hurt and guilty and ashamed and angry and decided to take it out on him. Sometimes he even believed it. But then, as Riku stormed off, all Shin could hear was his own small voice that sounded like a hurt kindergartener. “But I thought we were friends.”

“Well, I guessed it can’t be helped, since you’re all friends.” Shin looked up, back in the present, where a teacher was pretending she knew them, pretending that everything was fine because they were all _friends_.

He stood up. As any movement from him at all was rare, the entire class stopped and turned. Shin looked at her and spoke as deliberately as he could, to get it through her thick skull.

“Friends? Don’t use that word so easily.” _Don’t pretend you know us. Don’t pretend you’re one of us. You’re a teacher. You’re the enemy._ With that, he walked out of that stupid classroom with that stupid teacher.

After skipping the rest of the school day, he walked home with the rest of the guys, minus Minami, who had disappeared to go hang with his new girlfriend. Even hearing about how the teacher stupidly and naively believed that if she let the kids go change, they would come back to help clean Head Monkey’s car didn’t make Shin feel better. He lagged behind the group with a bitter feeling in his stomach as they tried to figure out how hot Minami’s girl was, which is how he happened to see the girl in question.

He saw Minami trying desperately to win a prize from those stupid claw machines. His eyes widened as he saw the girl next to him. She looked familiar, and not a good familiar. Shin thought back. One of the restaurants he went to with Kuma. She was there with someone else. He looked up in shock. She was dating that gang leader from Ara High. Watanabe. _Ah, shit_. If Watanabe ever found out, Minami was as good as dead.

How could he tell him? He couldn’t just walk up and confront him with the girl right there. He swore again as he remember how Minami talked about her. He really liked her. Shin sighed. Maybe he could leave her out of it. Just tell Minami to stop dating her without telling him why.

 _Yeah. That’ll totally work._ That night, he tried to come up with a way to save Minami without letting him know that the girl he liked so much was two-timing him with a gang leader. As he walked to school and saw Minami’s bruised face, he knew he was too late.

“What happened to you?” Kuma demanded.

“No frickin’ idea. I’m on a date with Ayumi-chan, we’re having a good time, she gets a text and looks all freaked out and says she has to get home. So she heads out and I head home, when these punks from who knows where show up and start poundin’ on me for no frickin’ reason. And then Yankumi and the cute teacher and the nurse show up with some cops. The cops chase the punks off, Yankumi tells me run and covers for me, and now my face looks like _this_! What’s Ayumi-chan going to think of me with my handsome face all swollen?”

While the guys started talking about how to track down the punks and what they deserved, Shin sat quietly at his desk. Minami had no idea why he had gotten attacked. He was back to his original problem. And back to the only solution he could think of. It’d hurt Minami even more if he found out his Ayumi-chan was to blame, so Shin would let Minami blame him. Hate him.

“Minami.” Shin got his attention, then jerked his head toward the stairs. Best leave before _she_ got here and started asking questions. When they had walked away from the classroom and reached the front steps of the school, Minami asked what the heck was going on.

“Give up on that girl.” Shin used the most superior voice he could come up with. It’d be easier to hate him if he acted like he was better than Minami. He knew that from experience

“Huh?” Minami was genuinely confused.

“Got it?” That’s it. Sound like a dictator, giving commands to his subordinates.

The reaction was predictable. “It’s none of your damn business! Don’t you ever tell me what do again!” Nice right hook from someone who was injured. Shin took the hit and waited.

“Got it, you bastard?” Minami shouted, a mockery of Shin’s command. He was getting ready to punch Shin again when the P.E. teacher showed up and hauled them both to the office.

“Alright, what’s the reason for this fight? Who struck first?” The Vice Principal demanded, stomping back and forth. _Just give it a sec, he’ll blame me_. No surprises from him.

“Hang on a minute!” She stepped in, trying to diffuse the situation. “You both have a reason, right?”

Shin didn’t even look at her. _Just watch, clueless teacher. Watch and see how_ normal _teachers act._

“I get it. Sawada.” _Yup, here we go._ “If you don’t want to be expelled, you better write an apology letter.” Head Teacher gave him his most domineering voice. Typical. No proof, no reason for writing a stupid letter except that Sawada was a student and Sawatari was a teacher. What in the world would he even write? _I apologize for trying to protect Minami by making him hate me. I apologize that I’m not the perfect little student you think I should be. I apologize that students are always trash and teachers are always right._ Yankumi made a small noise of protest, which both of them ignored. Shin glared right back at Head Teacher to show that he wasn’t scared, then walked away. _See, clueless one? This is how it is. Stop pretending you’re different._

Shin stopped by class to grab his bag, and found Yankumi following him.

“You’re not going home, are you?”

“There’s no way I’m writing an apology letter.” _I’m not going to play the teacher’s stupid little games._

“You don’t care if you’re expelled?”

“Expelled?” Kuma asked in shock as the rest of the class turned to stare.

“Doesn’t matter to me.”

“Maybe you don’t care, but I do.” _Yeah, right._ “And what about you guys? Do you want to see your friend expelled?”

Before he could get hurt by no one answering, Shin established that he didn’t need friends to care if he got expelled. “Don’t just throw the word ‘friend’ around so lightly.”

“What are you talking about? A friend is a friend.” She looked confused, and Shin saw the little kindergartener he used to be, the little kid thinking that friends were always there for you, that they would sacrifice themselves for you, that you could trust people who said they were your friends. He felt a little sorry for her, and a little jealous, that she somehow made it to adulthood without that illusion shattering. Well, the time had finally come. Make her hate him too. Why not?

“Like ‘let’s get along because we’re all friends?’ We’re not kids. Don’t make me laugh.” He looked past her as Minami walked in. _Exhibit A_ , he thought as he turned and left.

“Shin!” Kuma shouted. Good old Kuma.

“Let him go! Even if he gets kicked out, he can still go to another school. He’s smart anyway.” As Minami’s voice faded, Shin knew he had succeeded. Minami hated him. He was that much more alone.

_And I don’t care. I’ve always been alone. Doesn’t matter to me._

And yet, when Kuma found him asleep in the grass the next morning, and dragged him back to school so he wouldn’t get kicked out, he felt a little better that at least someone cared enough to find him. Good old Kuma-bear.

He sat down at the desk and threw his bag on top of the stupid paper meant for his stupid apology letter. When Yankumi came in, he pretended an intense interest in his fingernails. She simply moved his bag and straightened things out before presenting the pencil and paper to him.

“Come on, you’ve got to write the letter.”

“I told you, I’m not doing it.”

“You know Kuma’s worried about you, right?” Shin looked up. This was another trick. She’d threaten Kuma to blackmail him, or just guilt him into writing it.

“Why don’t you write it for his sake?” Then, as if she genuinely meant it, she gave him a concerned look and left. He sat there for a while, thinking that it might be better if he didn’t have friends. At the rate he was going, he wouldn’t have any left by the year’s end. And he didn’t even know if getting Minami to hate him got him out of danger from those Ara High guys.

His phone rang. Speaking of…

“Now I understand what you meant. I’m sorry. Just  wanted to let you know.” Then Minami hung up.

Shin put the phone down. Then the last phrase hit him. ‘Just wanted to let you know’. Like it was a good-bye. Ah, _shit_.

Jumping out of his seat, he went over the possible locations Minami could be. Someplace isolated, somewhere the Ara High kids were familiar with. The supply yard by the river! He ran as fast as he could, but still arrived after Minami was on the ground.

“Minami!” He yelled, and Minami groaned a bit, which at least reassured Shin he was alive. But with all the kids kicking his ribs and stepping on him, he wouldn’t be for long.

“Get your hands off him! Don’t touch my friend!” Shin shouted, then charged into the fray. He got some good hits in, but with a dozen guys, he wasn’t fighting back for long. They held his arms and took turns punching him in the gut, like the cowards they were. Then they suddenly dropped him.

_Great. Now we’re both gonna die. Or get hospitalized. Probably kicked out of school. Damn kids. Damn Minami. Damn Minami’s girlfriend. Damn Yankumi too, for being so confident about what being friends meant. Damn her for being right. And damn me for knowing it._

The sound of splashing water and angry shouts from the Ara High kids made Shin gather his strength to turn his head and see what was happening. At first, between his blurred vision and the dust in the air, he could only make out a white figure holding a barrel.

 _Heh. Like a white knight, coming to save us. Wait, that’d make me a damsel in distress!_ Before Shin’s rattled brain could come up with anything weirder, Watanabe barked, “Who the hell are you?”

The dust settled, and Shin was sure he had a concussion or something, because the white knight coming to their rescue looked like Yankumi in her white track suit and glasses.

“ _Watashi_?” Such a delicate, feminine way to say ‘I’. It contrasted sharply with the fire in her eyes. “ _I_ am their homeroom teacher.” Like that was a challenge. Like that should scare the thugs away. Like they were _hers_ , and she was coming to protect her own.

She chucked the barrel at Watanabe and his thugs, causing them to take a step back. Then they all looked at each other and realized what she had said, if not how she said it.

“She said she’s a teacher! Ha!” These kids knew what teachers were. How they acted. A teacher would at worst call the cops, or beg them to go away and leave her alone. They didn’t need to be afraid of a _teacher_.

“Sawada. Minami. Go.” Yankumi spoke, not taking her eyes off the Ara kids. Shin tried to move, but couldn’t get far. “Hurry up and get out of here!”

 _Working on it_ , Shin tried to mutter to himself.

“Stop your blabbing!” Watanabe shouted.

“Shut up!” She answered, and this time he heard the steel in her voice. “I’m really pissed right now.” If Watanabe knew that was a warning, he didn’t show it. He sent one of his goons to head her off.

“You, teacher, back off!”

Yankumi didn’t even spare him a glance. Grabbing the hand that was on her collar, she twisted it into a neat joint lock that sent him to the ground, clutching his wrist.

She kept walking. A swift duck and punch took care of the next one. She stepped on the pipe he grabbed for, and still keeping her eyes on Watanabe, told him it was a dangerous toy for a kid.

As the group slowly retreated from this ridiculously calm and dangerous woman in pigtails, Watanabe asked her in a freaked out voice if she was going to fight. Shin understood. He’d be pretty freaked out too if Yankumi kept staring at him like that.

“I’ll do anything to protect my students!”

And as he struggled to sit up, Shin realized that it wasn’t a scam. Wasn’t a trick. She seriously meant it. She would actually do anything to protect them. And he couldn’t for the life of him figure out why.

“You guys ready?” She shouted, and with each step forward, the previously invincible high school gang members shrank back, until they finally ran off screaming.

She then turned that same look of calm, confident determination to them. Shin met her eyes, then looked away. It was hard enough admitting to himself that she was completely different from the other teachers, hell, different from anyone he had ever met. That she had won his respect. He certainly wasn’t going to admit it to _her_.

Later, when they had moved to a nearby hillside and she was cleaning Minami up, she spoke.

“So you knew. That Minami’s girlfriend was dating two guys at once. That’s why you two were fighting?”

It annoyed him that she could figure that out so easily. “So what?” He asked it as a dare, wondering what she would do with it.

And again, she surprised him. She grinned and announced, “You are a good guy after all.”

He stared at her a moment, then looked away, oddly embarrassed. It felt weird to have someone, have an _adult_ , think he was a good guy. Although, at 23, she’s barely an adult. Just five years older than him. Huh. He wasn’t quite sure what to do with this new information.

Suddenly, he heard far off voices shouting, “Yankumi! Shin!”

Shin turned and squinted. It was Kuma, Noda, and Uchi, and it looked like they had raided the sports locker and the janitorial closet in preparation for battle. Wearing shoulder pads and a catcher’s mask, and armed with a broom, mop, and a wooden kendo sword, they looked utterly ridiculous. After flailing and falling like the idiots they were, they finally made it to where Yankumi was standing.

Breathing heavily, Uchi told her, “You’re an idiot, Yankumi!”

Noda chimed in, “Did you think you could take them on all by yourself?”

 _She did_ , Shin thought.

“Shin,” Kuma panted, “isn’t this bad? Since you’re suspended?”

“That doesn’t matter.” He said reassuringly. He didn’t want Kuma to worry about him anymore.

“You idiot! What if you get expelled?” Minami coughed from the other side. Shin couldn’t help a tiny grin. Minami cared. They were friends again. Satisfied with only that, he raised his arms and fell back on the grass.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let that happen.” Yankumi’s voice rang out. They all looked at her.

She continued, speaking to the ground, like she was embarrassed to tell them something so…personal. “I’ll protect you guys no matter what.” Shin looked up at her. He knew she meant it, but he still had no idea why.

And then she told them.

“I…I’m your teacher,  you know.”

They all looked at each other, while Shin looked away. She made it sound so simple. And for her, it was. She was their teacher, and to her, that meant something sacred. It meant she would yell at them when they were noisy, punch them for stealing, rebuke them for acting cowardly, and fight for them when they needed a champion. It meant she cared.  And as they heard all of that behind her words, for the first time in most of their lives, the word ‘teacher’ sounded… good.

After they had returned to school and got patched up by the nurse, Minami went to tell their classmates what had happened, and Shin disappeared. He returned to the school a little later and headed straight for the teachers’ room. He could hear voices from inside, and quickly identified the loud, threatening one as the Vice Principal’s.

“So then, I assume before he left with this ‘stomachache’, Sawada wrote his apology letter, right?”

She had covered for him. He wasn’t sure why he was surprised. She had just taken down one of the toughest high school gangs with her bare hands, so lying to the Vice Principal would seem like a walk in the park.

“Well that is, he, um,” Time for his grand entrance. He slid the door open with a bang.

“Ah, he’s come himself. If you can’t answer, I’ll just ask him.” Shin could hear the gloating in his voice. “Sawada! Have you written your apology letter?!” It was obvious that he had a whole speech ready. _You haven’t? Well, then, I have no choice but to expel you! For the good of the school! For the good of the world! For-_

Shin dropped his letter (dissertation was more like it) loudly on his desk.

“Wow. You wrote a lot, didn’t you?” The Head Teacher murmured in shock as he leafed through the pages. Shin hid a smile. He hoped the teacher read it. It was the most contrite, groveling, expansive and sarcastic pieces he had ever written. He really got into a nice rhythm on page six. He gave the Head Teacher a look to let him know that he hadn’t written the letter because of _him_ , then walked away.

As he settled into his desk, he could hardly believe it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. Yankumi walked in with a smile and loudly greeted her class. They all paused to look at her. Even if they didn’t quite believe the vague details Minami had given them about what she had done, they knew something was different.

“Morning!” She repeated brightly, waiting for a response.

And this morning, she got one. It was soft, mumbled, scattered, but her class acknowledged her greeting. She looked at Shin, who met her eyes with _Hey, I’m awake. That’s all you’re getting from me_.

She grinned, because a low ‘good morning’ and an awake Shin meant that today was a good day.

“Well, let’s start class.”


	3. Building a Bridge

**Author’s Note:**

**Hello! Welcome to the third installment! Dang, this was long. I didn’t quite realize how much went on in this episode. But still! Enjoy!**

* * *

As Shin walked toward school that morning, he paused on the bridge. This is usually where he napped on the hillside until whenever he wanted, then strolled into school late like he didn’t care. Because he didn’t. He looked at his watch. School would start in ten minutes. If he kept walking, he’d arrive right on time. Ordinarily, that would be too ridiculous to consider, but… for some reason, going to class seemed more interesting than napping. Plus, he could always sleep at his desk.

So Sawada Shin arrived on time for school, which amazed and unsettled his friends. If Shin was on time, maybe something else impossible would happen.

“Do you think there’ll be a natural disaster today?” Uchi drawled, but he sounded like his heart wasn’t in it. Shin looked up to try and see what was wrong. He wasn’t beat up, and he didn’t look sick. Shin added Uchi to his list of things to think about. This list included the fact that he had seen Yankumi talking with two cops outside the school. He purposefully left off the list the fact that on the night Yankumi claimed she had a group date, Minami saw her with some cops. The possibility of her dating anyone was laughable, and Shin found that he didn’t like thinking about it much. So. Worrying about Uchi and cops, not worrying about Yankumi and dates. Ew.

While Shin was pondering his list, he watched detachedly as the green-striped shirt guys (he could never remember their names. He was pretty sure they were twins. Or at least brothers.) set up a block of flour above the door. Yankumi walked in with a cheery hello and got flour all over herself in response.

He grinned slightly as she just stood there, covered in white as a chorus of “Ba-ka! Ba-ka!” echoed around the room.

“Quit it!” She shouted in her scary voice. “Sit up straight this instant!”

Shin’s grin grew a little wider. This was totally worth skipping his nap.

After homeroom was over and they were on a break, the newspaper article about the possible student thief started circulating the room. Everyone had a story about how all the adults immediately suspected them, whether at a convenience store or at school. Shin, however was focused on Uchi. He seemed distracted and worried. After he agreed with Noda without really listening to what he had said (always dangerous), Shin moved over and asked what was wrong.

“Hm? Nothing.” Uchi said with an unconvincing smile. Shin knew he was lying, but didn’t want to push. That’s how you lost friends.

Uchi stood up. “I’m gonna skip today. Gotta jet.” He walked out, ignoring the cries of protest from his friends.

“He’s been acting kinda strange lately.” Minami commented. Shin grew more worried. If even Minami noticed, it must be pretty bad.

When math with Yankumi was over, Shin also decided to take the rest of the day off. He wasn’t going to follow Uchi, because that’d be sneaky and wrong. But he could just happen to pass by the places Uchi often went. Nothing wrong with that.

Sure enough, as he walked through one of the downtown arcades, he heard one of the consoles say “You lose!” in an incredibly condescending way and a familiar voice cursing at it. Shin sat down across the way and watched Uchi slam into the manager accidently and tell him to watch it. The Uchi he knew would at least mutter an apology before walking off. Angry Uchi meant worried Uchi, which in turn meant a worried Shin.

The mountains of posters declaring “Beware of Purse-Snatcher!” on the way to school didn’t help. Especially since the drawing was of a figure in a uniform similar to Shirokin’s, and had blonde hair peeking out of the beanie he wore. The description was vague enough that really the only clues were the hair color and the fact that the muggings had occurred near the school. Head Teacher was going to have a field day with this.

Shin was worried but not surprised when Uchi didn’t show up to school. He tried to sleep, but since Minami, Noda, and Kuma decided to have a very loud conversation next to his back desk, he moved up a few rows. Unfortunately, he could still hear them.

“Hey, let’s go find the real thief to clear Uchi’s name!” Kuma declared. “We could have a stakeout!”

“Baka. We could never catch him. Right, Shin?” Noda chimed in.

Shin thought a moment. These guys wouldn’t take a stakeout too seriously, since it was much easier to talk about ideas then shoot them down, than actually put in effort. But Shin was willing to bet that even if this wasn’t the reason Uchi was so out of sorts, catching the bad guy would certainly help some.

“It might be a good way to kill time.” He phrased it as lazily and nonchalantly as possible, but the fact that he was willing to participate in anything still shocked his friends.

“Eh? That doesn’t sound like you.” Minami pointed out. “What’s wrong?”

Rather than get into details about how he recently felt that he should be a better friend (which had nothing to do with a certain someone’s actions and speeches), he ignored the question and pointed out that doing a stakeout wouldn’t take much time, thus still fitting in with lazy Shin’s character.

“All the muggings happened at about the same time and place. If we can catch the thief before the cops get to him…it’d be kinda cool.” _See? Nothing weird about it. I wouldn’t change my character so suddenly just because a weird teacher starting doing and saying weird things. Nope. Not me._

Noda thought a moment. “Yeah, that’d be kinda…”

“Cool.” Kuma joined in.

“Wouldn’t it?” Minami agreed.

“It’d be wonderful!”

They all nodded with visions of being heroes in their heads until they realized that the last voice sounded like…

“Yankumi!” Minami shouted in surprise.

“What are you doing here?” Noda demanded.

Shin was still in shock from the fact that he hadn’t heard her come up. He liked being aware of his surroundings, and since he spent most of his time in class with his eyes closed, had developed fairly sharp hearing. But he hadn’t heard anything. No footsteps, no breathing. Again, the question popped up. _Who the hell was she?_

“I heard everything you said. This is such a wonderful plan!”

Oh dear. This can’t be good.

“I feel so moved right now. This touching scene has been what I have always longed for!” She was starting to lose herself in whatever idiotic dramatic vision she had in her head. Shin could almost hear the melodramatic violins crescendo as she spoke.

“Since you’ve already made up your minds, I will do everything that I can to help you! Alright then, let’s catch the real thief, everyone.” Clearing expecting a round of applause and shouts of support, she raised her fist in the air. “Oh!”

Not hearing the level of excitement she wanted, she turned around.

“C’mon guys! Oh!”

More confused than anything, Minami and Kuma slowly raised their hands while Noda moved his foot.

“Oh…” They mumbled half-heartedly.

“Not loud enough! Oh!”

Somehow sucked into her ridiculous cheer, the three guys punched the air and shouted, “OH!”

She turned to him, blind enthusiasm shining in her eyes. “Sawada! Oh!”

_You’re even crazier than you look if you think I’m doing that._

“That’s stupid.” He told her, deflating her ego and walking away.

However, he somehow found himself showing up at the place and time they agreed on. Sitting as far away as possible, he observed her interact with the group and wondered how anyone could maintain that much energy for that long.

“Where’s Sawada?” She asked, and when they pointed him out (traitors), he met her eyes briefly, then looked away. He rarely maintained eye contact with anyone, and with Yankumi he had a feeling that if she thought he was staring at her, she’d think something weird. It’s not like she was much to look at anyway.

“Hey, Yankumi, you really up to it?” Minami asked with a shade of concern.

“Naturally! Are you going to let Uchiyama to become a suspect? I could never tolerate that. Right, Sawada?”

Why was she asking him? And _what_ was she asking him? Right, she couldn’t tolerate it? Or that she was up to it?

“I don’t really care.” He said aloud. “Just don’t drag us down.” With that he walked away, mostly to hide the grin on his face as he heard her react. He was starting to get the hang of predicting her actions, yet unlike most adults, her reactions were amusing rather than despicable. Needling her was kind of…fun.

“You say I’m gonna mess it up? Eh, Sawada? You think I’m gonna drag you down?! Eh? Eh?!”

Once the guys finally calmed her down, she showed them a map she had made. Shin had to admit (to himself anyway, not to her. Never to her.) that it was pretty good. There were marks for each mugging and detailed drawings of the surrounding areas.

Shin noticed a pattern. “Every incident took place between the entertainment district and the residential area.” Yankumi looked at him with a growing smile.

“That’s a pretty sharp observation, Sawada!” She sounded like he had solved some impossible problem rather than pointing out something he noticed on _her_ map. She also sounded proud of him, which he guessed meant she was going to try and hit him, or something. He stood up so that she elbowed the empty space where he used to be and took charge.

“Let’s split up and walk around the area.” And before she could punch him for the brilliance of taking the next logical step in a stakeout, they all heard voices. Loud, drunken ones.

Peering around a nearby tree, they were all treated with the disturbing sight of the Vice Principal staggering around outside a hostess club and pleading with “Satsuki-chan” to stop breaking his heart. The P.E. and Biology teacher were with him, although they were pleading with him to go home and drink some coffee.

As everyone blinked in shock, Yankumi turned away, and told them that the right thing to do was to forget it ever happened. Pretending like they never saw it sounded like an excellent idea to Shin, since seeing Head Teacher roll around on the ground and moan like a lovesick teenager was undoubtedly the most unsettling thing he’d ever seen.

Shaking it off, they all chose a section of town and ran to cover their perimeter. After making their rounds, they all met up by the rail line. They compared stories, and found that no one had seen or heard anything.

“Let’s call it a day. We’ll come back tomorrow.” Yankumi decided.

“Eh?! We have to come back tomorrow?” asked Kuma.

“Of course! This was all your idea, right?” Shin mentally shook his head. He had seen this coming a mile away. He was learning that once Yankumi latched on to a cause, she’d chase it until the end, regardless of anyone or anything that got in the way.

“But, Yankumi,” whined Minami, “we weren’t going to take it so seriously!”

“But you have to take it seriously! You must take it extremely seriously!” Shin couldn’t help the grin on his face. She was so passionate and zealous about helping them. It was nice to have a teacher on their side for once. Plus, she was hilarious when she was all fired up.

He looked over and his smile faded. “Uchi,” he said softly, drawing the group’s attention to their blonde visitor.

Uchi glanced at them, then tried to continue on his way. ‘Tried’ being the operative word.

“Cheer up, Uchiyama!” She jumped in front of him and proudly declared, “We’ve teamed up to catch the real thief to prove your innocence!”

Now, if Yankumi wasn’t there, Uchi might pass by them, they would probably let him, and he would pretend like he didn’t notice they were out looking for the thief, and they would pretend they weren’t looking for the thief to clear Uchi’s name. No words would be spoken, except maybe a “We got your back”, there would be a good probability of them understanding each other, and they would never mention it to anyone. But she was here. And Uchi was not used to her blunt, straightforward way of saying everything she was thinking.

“Huh?”

“There’s no need to say anything. Come back to school. We all believe in you.” Yankumi was weird enough to probably expect a heartfelt, emotional reply like “Oh good! I was unsure if I still had your trust, but now that you support me, I shall come back to school and improve my future! Thank you for your effort, guys!” Luckily, as a naturally taciturn guy, Shin was well versed in how to say one thing instead of another.

“Don’t do such a stupid thing.” Translation: _I’m embarrassed that you guys would sacrifice your time for me._

“Who cares about stuff like that?” _I’m pretending that I wasn’t concerned about being suspected as a thief._

“I don’t want to go to school anyways.” _People judge me there. And since they treat me like a criminal anyway, I might as well have the education of one._

“Do me a favor and don’t interfere.” _Stay out of this. I’m not worth your time._

But Yankumi was persistent. “Don’t you know your mom is worried about you?”

“This has _nothing_ to do with my mom.” Uchi growled, then walked off. Shin didn’t need to translate that. Uchi was incredibly protective of his mom, and hated being reminded that he worried her. He also heard the bit about his mom as a threat or guilt trip, since normal teachers only spoke to parents to berate them about their children’s actions. Shin was willing to bet that Yankumi had only gone to try and help. She probably made whatever it was worse, but she would only go with the best of intentions.

As Yankumi shouted after Uchi, Shin ducked out of the back of the group and took a shortcut that placed him directly on Uchi’s way home. Just as he meant to, Shin lounged at the top of the stairs like he had been there the whole time as Uchi turned the corner.

“What’s up?” Uchi asked, knowing that Shin wouldn’t have gone out of his way if he didn’t have something important to talk about.

Shin paused a moment, then addressed the rail on the other side of the stairs. “At first we treated this like it was a game. But now that teacher is taking it literally. That Yamaguchi is serious about finding the real suspect for you.”

Uchi looked uncomfortable. He knew he had been a bit rude to her, and knowing he was in the wrong made him defensive. “So what?”

He blinked once, then rolled his head to look at Uchi. “Just to let you know.” That was the key. If you don’t push, they can’t push back and get angry and defensive and not think about what you said. Shin wanted his words to sink in.

“Later.” He said, then left Uchi to his thoughts.

As he walked home, he let his own words sink in. He had stood up for a teacher. He had told Uchi that Yamaguchi was on their side. That she actually wanted to help, not just look out for herself.  The weirdest part was that he didn’t regret it. Yankumi had somehow convinced him that she would look out for them, no matter what. The vision of her shouting “I’ll do anything to protect my students!” flashed through his mind. Unless she was playing the most elaborate charade ever, she had meant it. Why else would someone say that to a group of murderous high school thugs they were facing down for two rebellious students? Why else would they do that?

The thoughts still lingered the next morning, though they were soon banished by Uchi’s still empty desk. As the rest of the class filtered in, they found Shin, Minami, Noda, and Kuma contemplating the empty seat.

“Uchi didn’t show up again,” Noda commented.

Minami observed, “He’s been acting strange lately. What’s wrong with him?”

“It’s got something to do with the theft cases.” Kuma decided.

“Ah, that’s so. He has no idea how worried his mom is.” Yankumi remarked.

They all nodded in agreement until the boys realized she had done it again. Shin stared at her in suspicion. This time she had appeared in front of him! He could blame not noticing last time because she snuck up behind him, but suddenly realizing that she was in front of him, leaning on Kuma as if she’d been there all along was too weird. Something had to be wrong with her.

“Yankumi! When did you get here?”

“I have a good idea,” She said, walking in front of the group and completely ignoring their questions. “Until the suspect strikes again, we cannot just sit and wait. We must initiate an attack!”

Noda, always eager for new plans, jumped in. “What have you come up with this time?”

_Something weird, no doubt._

“There’s going to be a decoy and a stakeout.” She announced.

“Who’s going to do that?” asked Minami derisively.

_Really, guys? She’s the one coming up with the plan. Who do you think she’ll pick as the decoy?_

“All the victims were women, right? When it comes to women, I’m the only one here!”

 _And you barely count_ , Shin thought to himself, considering her dorky look and rough speech.

“Ah? Is that so?” Kuma asked, as if he just realized the fact that Shirokin was an all-boys school.

Minami slapped him in rebuke. “Fathead.”

“How could that ever work?” Even Noda knew that no mugger in his right mind would go for Yankumi. “Right, Shin?”

Shin looked out the window. “Let her do what she wants.” She would just do it anyway, and plus, she was having fun. Not like he cared if she was having fun.

“Ehhh?” The whole class stared at this weird, new Shin who went along with crazy teacher’s plans.

“Alrighty then!” Yankumi declared with a grin, ignoring the commotion behind her.

The rest of the class was spent by Yankumi getting halfway through equations on the board, then muttering strange things like “Red? No, blonde would be better,” or “heels are more attractive, but I might need to run” or the weirdest one, “…a sword? Probably not, wouldn’t want to nick it”. Shin rolled his eyes and went to sleep. He figured he’d need it tonight.

After school was out, he and the guys changed clothes, then headed toward the park. Shin was quiet as usual in the back of the group while everyone else talked about the potential rewards for catching this guy. While Kuma and Noda were arguing whether to spend the hypothetical reward money on food or computers, Shin looked up and froze. His friends turned toward the sound of footsteps and gaped.

There, standing in what Shin was sure she thought was a sexy pose, was Yankumi. But it wasn’t Yankumi. From 80’s legwarmers to short shorts over leggings, complete with a red heart belt and a misspelled American shirt, she looked completely ridiculous. And the blonde wig (so that’s what she was mumbling about) and green eye shadow just sent the whole thing over the top. He couldn’t decide whether this was the funniest or most disturbing thing he had ever seen.

“I’m wearing the current fashion.” She announced proudly. “I’ll attract a lot of attention _.” Oh, you’ll attract attention for sure_ , Shin thought, then couldn’t stand it anymore. If he looked at her any longer, he’d die from suppressed laughter. He made his way to a nearby tree and tried to control himself. It didn’t help that she kept trying to justify her style choices to a group of high school boys who sadly knew more about fashion than she did.

“Sawada! Sawada! Whaccha think?” He worked his mouth around to get rid of his huge grin. He took a deep breath, settled his bored face, then turned around.

She looked so proud of herself, like a little kid presenting a finger-painting or macaroni art, expecting praise that she was the next Van Gogh. He sighed. He may be an apathetic teenager, but he wasn’t that cruel.

“You look fine,” he said, then stared off into the clouds to make sure she didn’t take more from it than he meant.

“Huh?” The guys were really starting to think Shin had been brainwashed or something. Normally he’d have spared her a glance, said “Ugly,” then headed out. What was happening to him?

“Alright! Class 3-D Operation Blondie: To Catch the Real Suspect!”

Trust her to come up with a long and ridiculous name for walking around downtown.

As they all hung out near a bridge, Shin was highly amused by her attempts to be a normal girl. She swung her hips and moved her legs like she had been horseback for two days straight, along with occasionally flipping her hair or batting her eyes. But after two hours of this, the boys were getting tired.

“Why isn’t anyone coming?” Asked Kuma as he munched on his ice cream sandwich.

“She’s wearing such tacky clothes that nobody would dare go near her.” Shin said, hiding a smile.

“Whaccha mean by that?” Minami questioned suspiciously, locking on to the fact that Shin insulted her almost affectionately.

Shin rolled his head around to face him. “That she looks tacky and like she has no money.” Minami raised an eyebrow and looked unconvinced.

“Thief!” Shouted Yankumi, rousing everyone to action. They all rushed down the stairs, and Shin lithely jumped over the railing to follow the dark figure. As everyone but Kuma followed, Shin saw that they were losing ground. If something didn’t stop him, they’d never be able to catch him. And then, as the tunnel ended, he saw Yankumi and the guy on the ground.

“Yankumi! Are you ok?” Noda yelled as they sprinted towards her.

“Yeah!” She shouted back, and Shin breathed a quick sigh of relief. Relief that they had caught the guy. Not that she was ok. _I mean, it’s good she’s ok, but she can take care of herself. I know that. I’m just relieved because… does she have that guy in a head lock?_

Her eyes widening, she looked down at the guy’s head firmly twisted in the crook of her arm, then squealed, “Um, help me! He’s got my hand!”

It didn’t look like he had her hand in any way, but Shin charged at the guy nonetheless, and as Yankumi got out of the way, he dived on top of the thief. Minami and Noda followed with shouts of “Don’t let him get away!” It was then that Shin heard a loud war cry accompanied by pounding footsteps and Yankumi saying in an increasingly panicky voice, “Baka! Kuma! Stop!”

Shin then had a vision of all his ribs breaking at once.

However, besides feeling like all the air had been forced out of his body, Shin was unhurt and was able to help unmask the unconscious suspect. Whether he was unconscious from Yankumi’s chokehold or Kuma’s addition to the dog pile was unclear and unimportant. Without his mask or sunglasses, they all realized that he was not from Shirokin. The wig under the beanie and the bald head under the wig proved that he wasn’t even a student.

He thought a moment. He recognized this guy, from the arcade. He was the one Uchi bumped into. After the guy was identified, Yankumi called the police, then whipped off her wig and starting practicing batting her eyes at a telephone pole. Shin took a perverse pleasure in her disappointed face as none of the cops that came were familiar.

The next day, they were awarded a Certificate of Appreciation. However, the detectives awarding it to them did look familiar, and Yankumi kept staring at the tall one with a ridiculous grin and dreamy eyes. And yet, she looked so dorky in her pink tracksuit that Shin couldn’t help but smile. Plus, she had spent the whole night out with them, and _not_ Mr. Handsome Detective-san, which made him feel better. And when she dived in front of the camera to get in the picture, he smirked again, because that was exactly what he expected her to do. He liked that he could predict her actions now.

And that’s why he shouldn’t have been surprised by the fact that she “rewarded” them with cafeteria food. Kuma dove right in (no surprise there), but Minami and Noda whined loudly.

“Freeloaders shouldn’t complain,” She motioned with her chopsticks to emphasize her point. And because that was something only Yankumi could say without sounding like a condescending adult, Shin picked up his fork and started to eat. Noda and Minami followed his cue, still grumbling.

_Might as well. If we don’t eat this, she’d probably give us something cheaper. Like coupons._

“Isn’t it good that we could clear Uchiyama’s name?” She asked him softly.

He wrapped some noodles around his fork as he thought, _We couldn’t have done it without you. Despite your awful fashion sense._

She pouted a little. “Don’t always put on that expression. Nobody can understand what you’re thinking.”

He gave her a look that said, _That’s the point_ , then went back to eating. The idea of Yankumi reading his thoughts was far too frightening to contemplate.

It was then that the nurse ran up to the table and told Yankumi that something had happened to Uchi. They all exchanged looks, then ran after her to the school office. Shin saw a familiar scene. Accusing teachers, a worried parent, and a sense of complete powerlessness emanating from the student in question.

They ignored the Head Teacher’s minion’s demand to leave, and could only watch from the sidelines. Yet this time was different. This time Yankumi was there. Shin knew how this normally played out, but waited, hoped, that this outcome would be different.

“He’ll need a week off to recover,” the Head Teacher said with loud disapproval. Shin had no idea who ‘he’ was, but he was sure the kid deserved it. Uchi didn’t fight without a good reason.

“Uchiyama, what were you fighting about?” Yankumi inquired gently.

“If you can’t give a reason, there’s no way the fight is justifiable.” Minion Washio gloated.

 _Not helping!_ Shin wanted to shout at him.

“Uchiyama, answer me!” Yankumi said with a hint of authority.

“Haruhiko!” His mother whispered, begging.

Shin knew exactly how Uchi felt. Everyone around him, saying his name in tones of anger, disapproval, disappointment. Retreating into a unresponsive shell would only last for a little while before there was an explosion.

 “Other students received honors, but you ruined everything!” Head Teacher added the last straw. “Are you prepared to be punished?”

To Uchi’s credit, his voice was clear and under control. “I’m quitting school.”

Shin could almost feel the shock hit the guys in front of him and melt into him as well.

“I’ve thought about it before. Thank you for taking care of me.” And with that, he rushed out, ignoring the cries from his mother, from Yankumi, and from his friends. While Yankumi and the guys headed to the bathroom to think and talk (why the bathroom?), Shin thought about what Uchi’s next step would be. He thought about Uchi’s mother passing out from overworking, and Uchi’s anger at not being able to help. He remembered Uchi staring at the ‘Help Wanted’ sign in front of one the restaurants they went to.

Sure enough, he saw Uchi talking to the manager inside. Shin looked at the park across the way until Uchi came out.

“Shin.” He was a little surprised, but not much. Shin was the first one any of them went to for help, and often made a habit of showing up to help without being asked. _Good grief, it sounds like I’m Yankumi._

 They walked for a bit in silence, until Shin asked, “You really going to quit?”

“Yeah. My mind’s made up.”

“Oh.” Shin nodded. “You know, I always thought it didn’t matter whether I went to school or not. But recently, for some reason, school’s gotten interesting.” He smiled a little as he realized how true that really was. “Ever since that weird new teacher showed up _.” Things have been different. It isn’t students vs. teachers anymore. There’s a bridge._

“Yankumi, huh?” Uchi said softly. Shin turned, as if to say, _Is that her name?_ , then grinned and nodded. Uchi had noticed the difference too.

“Uchiyama!” Speak of the devil. Here’s old bridge-maker herself.

“I heard about Teradamari bullying the puppy you were taking care of.” Ah. Uchi would beat up someone for that, no question. “That’s why you beat him up”

Uchi sighed, then walked away.

“Uchiyama, what you did was wrong, but that’s no reason to quit school.” She was walking quickly, in order to keep up with Uchi’s long strides.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” He stated, quickening his pace.

“Your mother went to apologize to Teradamari!” She answered, getting louder and keeping up. _Impressive_ , Shin thought from behind them.

“It has nothing to do with me.”

“Don’t you care about how your mother feels?” Yankumi asked.

“Butt out!” Uchi shouted. “Without me around, she’ll have a lot less burden to bear!” Shin exhaled, then started walking. Yankumi would need someone to translate Uchi-speak for her pretty soon. She had the wrong idea about him, and Shin doubted Uchi would bother to correct her. He’d spent most of his school career not caring what teachers thought of him.

“Ever since junior high, she’s been called into the school office all the time because of me, apologizing to people. There’s no point in going to school anymore!” He took a breath. “I’ve decided to be independent. She doesn’t have to take care of me anymore.”

“Don’t use such rebellious words!” Shin and Uchi paused. “Independent? Don’t be so arrogant! Who do you think raised you? Has your mother ever given up on you? Has she left because you were difficult? Consider her feelings a little bit at least!” She was in a full righteous anger now.

“He gets it.” Shin told her. Both of them turned to look as he walked up. “He understands perfectly. His mother passed out last month. Because of that, he doesn’t want her to suffer anymore. So actually, he’s quitting school for his mother’s sake.” Yankumi blinked as she processed this new information. “Right, Uchi?” Shin called.

Uchi looked embarrassed that Shin knew him that well. “Whatever. No one asked you anything.”

“I’m sorry. I was out of line.” Yankumi told Uchi softly. Shin smirked a bit. He _liked_ having a teacher who could apologize when she was wrong. Now it was time for someone else to apologize, if not admit that he was wrong.

“C’mon, let’s go.” He slapped Uchi on the back. “You can’t let your mom apologize by herself.”

Their little group headed out. And as Uchi’s mother apologized for and defended her son, and Yankumi told Uchi he was his mother’s reason for living, and Uchi went up to join her, all Shin could do was stand back and watch. He knew his own mother would never go apologize for him. His father couldn’t even imagine apologizing to someone else for any reason at all. He used to feel the lack of a caring family very keenly. His eyes slid to Yankumi. He didn’t feel it so much, anymore.

And as Uchi and his mother walked away, arm in arm (although Uchi kept pulling away out of embarrassment), Shin noticed Yankumi wipe her nose, take off her glasses, and hurriedly swipe at her eyes.

He sighed. “What’re you crying for?”

“That’s how a mother and son should be.” She gave a proud, tearful smile, like she was personally responsible for their relationship and current happiness. _She did help a little_ , a small voice in his head pointed out.

“Your misunderstanding caused all this commotion.” He reminded her, then paused, considering what his little voice had told him. “But in the end, things turned out alright.”

She looked at him curiously, as if trying to figure out whether he had just insulted or complimented her. He purposefully didn’t look at her, because he knew if he did, he would smile. It wouldn’t do anyone good if she realized that she was one of the few people who could make him smile. Even when she whacked his shoulder, he kept his eyes ahead.

“I really can’t tell what you’re thinking, but,” She sniffed a little, then ruffled his hair. “you’re a good kid.” Shin looked at her, trying to think of a response to this familiar, childish, idiotic sign of affection.

He ended up with, “I don’t need your compliments,” then turned away. He ran his fingers through his hair once, just to straighten it out, and could still feel the warmth of her hand. He let it linger a bit, then quickly dropped his hand.

“Weird new teacher,” he muttered to himself, and somehow, that made him smile.

At lunch the next day, he was headed towards their usual table when he saw her heading towards him, running away from voices that kept suggesting expensive things they could eat.

He took a breath and kept walking. Nothing was different. She had ruffled his hair. That was it. It was like he was a pet dog or something. Nothing important or meaningful at all.

“Sawada. Explain to them that you only treat people once.” She told him as she marched past. Obviously she didn’t think anything had changed.

“Tell them yourself, Yankumi.” He responded, then tried to head towards his table.

“Wait a second!” She shouted, and marched right back. “You…That was the first time you called me Yankumi.” Her voice was a little unsure, as if she was asking for confirmation.

 _Ah, shit_. He had said her name out loud. Not her real name either, but the affectionate nickname that all the rest of his classmates used. The one he only used in his head.

“I didn’t.” He murmured, looking off to the windows. For some reason, that only made her grin like a giant dope.

“Don’t be so bashful!” She told him, elbowing his arm, then giggling and pointing like she was six.

“I’m not.” He responded in the most serious voice he could come up with, then finally walked towards the cafeteria.

Behind him, he could heard, “Well, I’m gonna have a good afternoon today.” He could _hear_ her smile.

_You and me both, Yankumi. You and me both._


	4. Suddenly Studying Seriously

**Author’s Note:**

**Chapter 4! Whoo!**

**A few quick explanations:**

  * **‘Shizuka’ is another word for ‘be quiet’, so Yankumi making a pun in Japanese which I translated to ‘Shhhh-zuka’. Just in case I’m the only one who thinks I’m clever and hilarious.**
  * **A hostess or host club is basically where people go to drink and have attractive people (the host/hostess) flirt with them. Things can get more serious, and hostesses are often expected to go on paid dates with clients, which may include all kinds of activities. Hostesses are often considered the modern equivalent of geishas.  (Hence why it’s scandalous for a teacher to be one)**
  * **Japanese students are often required to learn English cursive! Why? No idea, except that it’s considered part of English and American culture. (I had to use it in fourth grade and that was it.)**



* * *

 

Shin was _trying_ to sleep.

Homeroom with Yankumi was over, which meant it was time for Fujiyama-sensei’s English class. Shin didn’t mind English class, since he could answer questions in his sleep (His senator father had made sure that his children could speak English fluently, not because _they_ wanted to, but to make sure _he_ looked good. Stupid old man). What he did mind was the screech of desks as the other kids scooted as close to the board as possible, leaving him alone (and usually asleep) in the back, and the loud murmur of everyone practicing English and finishing their homework. That miniskirt the teacher wore controlled the class almost as well as Yankumi’s yelling.

He had a sudden image of Yankumi in a miniskirt, which made him shudder and quickly put it out of his head. He much preferred her tracksuits and pigtails. While Fujiyama-sensei (or “Shizuka-chan”, as his classmates called her. Ugh.) tried to control the class with hormones, Yankumi tried to help them with an overwhelming blind passion for teaching. He preferred that too. So, he waited for the squeaks and voices to die down so he could finally get back to his nap.

The door opened, causing an expectant silence to fall over the class as they all leaned forward for a better look. _Finally_ , thought Shin, and settled his head deeper into his arm. Skipping his usual morning nap by the riverside in order to come to Yankumi’s homeroom made his English nap even more essential. He was almost asleep when cries of outrage exploded from the front.

“Ah, man! Why is she here again?”

“This is Shizuka-chan’s class! Where is she?”

As a chorus of “Shi-zu-ka! Shi-zu-ka!” echoed around the room, Shin slowly raised his head to see who had replaced their normal English teacher. _Yankumi?_ He suddenly felt more awake. Propping his head up on his arm, he watched as she shouted back at them,

“What’s with all the Shizuka? Huh? All of you Shhhhhh-zuka!” And then she went on to explain that English Teacher was sick with a cold and that she would be teaching math instead. Groaning with disappointment, they all scooted back away from the front, offending Yankumi mightily. Shin watched with a small grin, then closed his eyes again and drifted off to sleep to the sound of a dorky voice trying to explain algebra.

After class, Shin noticed Noda rush out with his English workbook in hand. He shook his head a little. English Teacher’s miniskirt had worked on Noda a little too well. The poor guy was hooked. _Ah, well. At least he’s studying for once in his life._

Even after school, as they headed for the crepe cart, Noda had his nose firmly planted in his book, reciting the properties of “to” to himself.

Uchi and Minami couldn’t pass up such a great teasing opportunity. “Oh! You’re really determined aren’t you?” Uchi danced in front of him, his guitar strapped on his back.

“Get a high score on the English midterm and capture Shizuka-chan’s heart that way, eh?” Minami grinned.

“Aw, she wouldn’t be interested in me anyway,” Noda replied, without looking away from the correct usage of adverbs.

Minami continued, “Operation Capture Shizuka-chan’s Heart Number 1!”

 _Good Lord, now Minami’s starting to sound like Yankumi_ , thought Shin.

“Women have a soft spot for presents.” Minami told him with the air of experience. Shin rolled his eyes.

Noda scoffed, “How could I afford to give her a present?”

And yet, as Uchi and Minami ran off to try and ‘charm’ some nearby girls, Shin noticed Noda stop by one of the street vendors and pick up a simple necklace. Grinning slightly at Noda’s enthusiasm, Shin was glad his friend had something to be happy about.

The next time he saw Noda, he had rushed out of the classroom with a bit of wrapping paper in his hand. He returned for break minus the present and with a face that kept switching between huge smiles and longing eyes. The other guys gathered around as Noda pulled out his laptop and started cycling through his rather impressive (and slightly creepy, in Shin’s mind) collection of snapshots of “Shizuka-chan”.

“Alluring aren’t they? Older women,” Uchi said dreamily, staring at the screen.

Kuma thought a moment, the asked, “Yankumi too, then?”

_Ha! Yankumi? Alluring?_

“She’s definitely excluded.” Shin told them decisively, remembering her ridiculous ‘thief catching’ outfit.

It was then he noticed someone tapping his shoulder. He turned to look and got poked in the cheek.

“Baka.” Yankumi (who else?) said with a dorky smile. Who in the world did that anymore? It was something ten-year-olds did to annoy each other. “I tricked you, huh?” Her smile got wider.

 _And that’s why_ , Shin thought to himself. A woman-child with tracksuits, glasses, and pigtails was the farthest thing from alluring. Ever. Plus, she had snuck up on him again. _Annoying_.

“Oh! Wait, wait!” She shouted, and ran over to join Noda, who was so absorbed in his creepy collection that he hadn’t even noticed Yankumi’s presence. “This picture didn’t turn out half bad!”

Watching Noda helplessly trying to cover the screen, and Yankumi shouting that he was all grown up, Shin felt a surprising amount of amusement. No normal teacher would act like that, teasing a student good-naturedly about his crush. But then again, nothing Yankumi did was normal, whether it was speaking to students or handling a crisis.

The next crisis arrived (on wheels, no less) later on in the week, with the revelation that “Shizuka-chan’s working part-time as a hostess at a bar!”

“Ehhh?!” The class shouted in surprise. Working as a hostess was a few steps above working a corner, but not many.

“I don’t know who, but someone ratted on her.” The bearer of bad news continued, rolling his way to his seat. “Head Teacher is _super_ mad.”

Shin thought a moment. In order to discover where English Teacher worked at night, someone must have followed her, and taken a picture or video for proof. They would also have had to be able to send it (most likely anonymously) to the school staff. Someone who would follow her, who had a camera, and computer skills. Shin did not like who that added up to.

His eyes fell on Noda, who was moodily staring at his desk. If the Noda from a few days ago heard the news that his precious ‘Shizuka-chan’ was in trouble, he would be outraged and demanding justice. This sullen, quiet, uneasy Noda was making Shin suspicious. Yankumi pounded in a few seconds later and went straight up to Noda’s desk, obviously coming to the same conclusion as Shin. Noda stared at her for a moment, then broke eye contact, confirming her suspicion.

“Was it you?” She asked, as her righteous anger started bubbling to the surface. “Was it you that took Fujiyama-sensei’s picture and sent it to the Head Teacher?”

Noda shifted in his seat, then leaned back with a sickly smile. “So what if I did?”

“Why would you do a thing like that for?” She shouted.

Standing up, Noda shouted back, “But that’s the truth. That woman was really working as a hostess!”

“It doesn’t mean you can do something like that!”

“So teachers can get away with everything?! Huh?” While this may have been true of many other cases in the school, Shin knew that this wasn’t about the injustice of teachers getting a free pass. This was Noda’s personal grudge, though about what he didn’t know.

“It’s her own fault! She…” Noda paused, as if in pain. “She took the present I gave her…and threw it in the trash.” Yankumi’s eyes widened and started to fill with compassion as Shin finally understood. Noda had been betrayed by a teacher, not in school, but in love. Having the object of your crush toss away your present…your feelings…you… would certainly cause feelings of betrayal, of anger, of vengeance. Shin could strangely easily relate. He could imagine how he would feel if… someone… who was important to him suddenly rejected him, threw him away. Not that there was anybody important to him. Not like that. He looked out for Number One, then his friends, then no one else. No one.

“It serves her right.” Noda said to himself, then looked to Yankumi. “Right?!”

 _Wrong_ , thought Shin as Yankumi’s arm shot out faster than anyone could see, all compassion gone from her eyes.

Noda hit the floor, bleeding from the side of his mouth, and the rest of the class stood up in shock.

“Does that allow you to do something so rotten? Huh?!” She shouted in such anger that Shin grabbed her arms so that she wouldn’t beat Noda to a pulp.

“Cut it out!” He yelled to her, unsure if she could hear him in her current state. One earnest punch from her was all they needed to know that they had violated her code, that they weren’t acting with pride and dignity. More would just be overkill. But Shin thought for a moment that she was taking this almost personally, that Noda revealing a teacher’s secret somehow infuriated and (Shin couldn’t be sure he was picking this up right) _frightened_ her. He then had such trouble keeping her away from Noda that he had little time to think about anything else. _Damn, she was strong_.

“Didn't you used to like Fujiyama-sensei? Just because she brushed you off and your love wasn’t reciprocated, you turned around and snitched on her, huh? Is that how you treat someone you like? That’s despicable! Is that the extent of your love?” Her voice started to change from pure anger to earnest passion, so Shin let her go.

“When Fujiyama-sensei rejected you, did you feel the pain in your heart?” She put her hand on her chest and looked like she was about to cry. “It hurt, didn’t it? And now that you’ve done this to her, did your pain go away? Are you happy now?” As she said it, Shin realized that this didn’t sound like her. This sounded like someone else talking _to_ her. He had a sudden vision of Yankumi being hurt and hurting others until someone said these same words to her.

“If you are happy, then you don’t have the right to love anybody!” _That_ , however, was her anger talking. _Too much, Yankumi. You pushed him too far._

Noda took a few ragged breaths, then half-heartedly shouted, “Shut up,” before running out the door.

Shin looked over at Yankumi, who was breathing hard as well, still fighting the mass of emotions she had just gone through. Righteous anger, personal anger, (fear?), loss, betrayal, then right back to personal anger again.

“What that guy did was really low,” Shin walked up next to her, then spoke softly, as if to himself. “But I can understand how he must have felt.”

It was the gentlest rebuke he could give, and yet he saw Yankumi’s eyes fill with guilt as she still heard it. He suddenly felt a wave of…something as the fact that he had corrected a teacher and that she had accepted it hit him. Normal teachers didn’t do that. _Thank God Yankumi wasn’t normal._

She proved how not-normal she was (again) in class the following day, when she announced that Fujiyama-sensei was suspended for a week, but if she met the Head Teacher’s condition, “he promised not to fire her.”

This sounded like it had Yankumi all over it. The Head Teacher had probably backed her into a corner with her own words, and now she was going to expect something impossible from them.

“What’s the condition?” Minami asked for the class.

“Well, um,” Oh, this _couldn’t_ be good. “On the English midterm, all of 3-D must achieve 30 points or above.”

As shouts of protest echoed around the room, Shin rolled his eyes. Yankumi obviously had no idea that the average score for these guys was far below the requisite 30 points.

“C’mon everyone! Work hard! If Fujiyama-sensei gets fired, Noda might feel so guilty that he quits school.” Shin slid his eyes to Noda’s empty desk. Although she had a point, the obstacle of such a high score (for 3-D, anyway) was too much to consider.

After listening to them for a few moments, he could see that she had come to a conclusion, which would probably be worse than the original condition.

“I got it! Starting today ‘til the week of midterms, I will stay after school to tutor you in English!” She declared proudly, somehow expecting them to be just as enthusiastic. When all she heard was more protests, she looked hopelessly lost and confused.

When the school day ended, all of 3-D filed out of the classroom and headed home. However, Shin, Minami, Uchi, and Kuma walked a little slower, trying not to feel guilty for ditching Yankumi when she was only trying to help.

 _She’s_ always _only trying to help_ , Shin heard the little voice again. He sighed and noticed that Kuma, who had been lagging behind, had stopped walking.

“I’m going. Yankumi helped me out before.” He told them, then turned and headed back.

 _I think that’s the first time he’s decided what to do without asking us_ , Shin realized.

“I’ll keep her company, too.” Minami announced, following Kuma. “I’ve caused her trouble before.”

“Aw, man. Now I don’t have a choice! I guess I owe her, too.” Uchi said with a smile, joining the rest.

Shin stood for a few seconds, just to contemplate the fact that three hooligans had decided to stay after school and study _voluntarily_ because their teacher expected them to. And they didn’t want to let her down.

 _Her kind of weird must be catching_ , thought Shin as he smiled softly and walked back to the classroom.

And there she was, sitting sadly in an empty classroom with a tower of books and handouts. She was so lost in thought that she didn’t even hear them come in.

Time for payback.

He tapped her shoulder, then poked her cheek as she turned.

“Baka.” He said in a low tone. How do you fall for your own childish trick?

“Were you daydreaming?” The rest of the guys chorused from behind him.

Sudden hope and happiness filled her eyes. “You guys…”

Before she could punch them or hug them or ruffle their hair, Shin ignored her beaming smile and grabbed one of the papers on top of the books.

“Target: 30 points. Exam tutorial. Day One. ‘Let’s bigin!’ By Yankumi.” He read, then pointed out that there was a (fairly elementary) spelling mistake.

“Eh? Really?” She asked in surprise, and rushed over.

“This should be an ‘E’, not an ‘I’ in ‘Let’s begin’.”

“Amazing! You’re a genius, aren’t you?” She stated, eyes wide with admiration.

He gave her a look. “I learned that in junior high.”

“Yankumi,” Uchi asked with condescending concern. “Are you really qualified to teach us?”

“You’re so unreliable.” Minami chimed in.

“Let’s start the lesson!” Kuma clapped in excitement.

“Okay! Let’s start!” She agreed, heading up to the board with far too much energy.

“Um, Yamaguchi Kumiko-sensei?” Uchi asked, and the formal use of her full name made her turn around in confusion.

Kuma smiled and told her, “For your information, all three of us have trouble with cursive writing.”

“Cursive?” She sounded almost panicked.

“Show us the way!” All three guys grinned and gave her thumbs up as she hung her head.

The actual lesson wasn’t too bad, and was almost helpful. As they marched home, Kuma led them in a rousing chorus of the English “A, B, C’s”. Halfway through, Shin noticed Noda asleep on the grass below them. The guys made it all the way to “L, M, N” before they realized Shin had stopped. To answer their questions, he simply jerked his head at Noda’s sleeping form.

“Noda!” They shouted, and headed down towards him.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Minami asked.

“Nothing much,” was the casual reply.

“Why don’t you come back to school?” Kuma suggested.

“Yankumi started something weird.” Uchi informed him.

“It’s just a pain to us, though.” Minami clarified, to try and keep up appearances.

Shin chose to give him the most relevant piece of news. “It’s possible that Fujiyama might get fired.”

Noda whipped his head around. “Fired?” He asked, worried. _This_ was the old Noda he liked.

“But she won’t, as long as everyone in 3-D gets at least a 30 on their English midterm.” Shin continued, and saw the hope fade in Noda’s face. Normally, it’d be impossible. Normally, nothing could get the slackers of 3-D to study for anything. Shin grabbed Kuma’s worksheet to show Noda what the not-normal Yankumi had made. What she was doing. Why she was doing it.

As Noda stared at the handmade packet, Shin spoke. “She said she wasn’t doing it just for Fujiyama. It’s for your sake too.”

Blinking quickly, and glancing away from the papers and back, the guilt finally proved too much. Noda stood up and walked away as fast as he could. Shin let him go. Noda had all the facts now. He’d come to his own decision in time.

As the bell rang to end their last class the next day, Shin waited, then looked up in surprise as no one left their seats. Conversations began all over the room, and each one was about the same thing.

“Man, I don’t normally go for these ‘study things’, but what can you do when a guy asks you a favor?”

“I’m just too good a guy to ignore such a heartfelt plea.”

“Did you see his face? He’s got the puppy eyes _down_! I wonder if that would work on chicks…”

“Does anyone have a pencil? I don’t think I’ve ever actually taken notes before.”

Shin’s first thought was, _He did it_. His second was, _She’s going to be so happy_. Not that he cared. At all. But still, a happy teacher…no. A happy _Yankumi_ meant happy students.

They quieted as they heard footsteps coming to the door. There was a pause, then Yankumi, with the same giant stack of books and papers, walked in with her head down, muttering something that sounded like, “Oh, forget it.”

When she saw every single student still at their desk, her face went from depression to surprise in the space of a few seconds.

“You’re late.”

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Hurry up and start the lesson.”

As the calls came from different parts of the classroom, she slowly walked to her desk. “You guys…” She started, still in shock. “…all came.”

“For the sake of our own, we’re willing to do anything.”

“It’s ‘duty and compassion’!” chorused the twins, echoing her passionate speech about what friendship  meant.

“Well, it doesn’t hurt to study sometimes.”

“It can’t be helped. He even got down his knees and begged.”

“Huh? Who got down on his knees?” She asked. _So slow_.

“Who do you think?” Shin said, rolling his head to look at her. Still holding her massive pile of books, she turned towards the door as Noda slowly stepped in.

“Noda!” She shouted in astonishment, finally catching on.

He walked towards her, obviously debating what he was going to say. When he reached her, he examined the floor very carefully and said “I’m sorry,” in the softest tone possible.

Shin watched her reaction. She pursed her lips and scrunched up her face as if she couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. She settled on dropping all her books and attacking Noda’s hair with a beaming smile.

“Alright!” was all she managed to get out as she kept ruffling his hair in a mixture of affection, pride, and happiness.

As he tried unsuccessfully to swat her hand away and hide his grin, cheers broke out. Noda made his way to his desk, pausing and bowing on the way. Shin’s face also had a small grin, as the Noda he knew was back, the weird teacher he had was happy, and everyone was ready to help.

“Alright, everybody, let’s start the lesson!” She announced happily. “We’ll work hard! Oh! Come on, let’s all do it! Oh! That’s too soft! Oh! One more time! OH!!”

The week that followed frightened and confused most everyone who knew anything about 3-D. They basically lived with their English workbooks and handouts, studied during lunch and breaks, used walls for practice rather than graffiti, and started using English outside of class.

Shin still had to correct her handouts, (like pointing out that ‘Make miracle!’ didn’t make any sense without an article like ‘a’. Or that ‘Dream comes true!’ needed to be ‘Dreams come true!’ to impart the correct sentiment) and _that_ somehow led to him being the main consultant for any difficult concepts. He was also pleased to notice that no one studied as hard or long as Noda, who didn’t always get the right answers, but kept trying nonetheless.

Adults started to notice their efforts too, and there was great rejoicing when the nurse brought in special onigiri as a study snack. The fact that Yankumi immediately snagged three for herself did not escape Shin’s notice. Nor did the fact that 3-D had never been so unified and excited for _anything_ , let alone studying, until she came along; so he let her have his share.

And before they knew it, a week had passed, and the Head Teacher strode in to their classroom with their midterms and a smug expression.

As they passed the tests out, Yankumi gave them one last piece of advice. “Listen carefully. Don’t be nervous. Stay calm while answering the questions and you’ll get a good score.”

  _I believe in you_.

She may not have said it out loud, but they heard it all the same.

There had never been such an air of concentration in the classroom ever before. All too soon, time was up, and the tests were handed in. But not before everyone had written notes to Shizuka-chan, so that she would know why they had studied so hard.

And so, they all waited with great trepidation as Shizuka-chan started handing out their tests. For many of them, this was the first test they had actually studied for, and the first score that they actually cared about. As each score was announced, and they continued to be more than 30 points, the atmosphere became almost like a party. Many earned the highest score they had ever gotten in school. But the most satisfying was watching Head Teacher’s face grow more and more constipated.

But, as they heard Kuma’s score of 29 points, hearts and faces fell. The Head Teacher proclaimed Fujiyama-sensei as failing the condition, and thus officially let go. As the sense of injustice grew, protests broke out, and Noda admitted he was the one who sent the photo in. He begged Head Teacher to let her stay, and deeply apologized to Fujiyama-sensei.

 _He found his way_ , Shin observed. As Yankumi stood up for Noda, for Fujiyama, when she argued passionately that those who want to start a new beginning should be given a second chance, Shin couldn’t help but feel the personal meaning she put into those words.

Yankumi turned to Fujiyama-sensei, and asked if this is how she wanted it all to end.

“I… I never had high expectations for my job as a teacher. But today was the first time I really wanted to continue teaching.” Shizuka-chan explained, near tears. “I… I really want to continue!”

But all Shin could think of was that Yankumi had the opposite problem. That she always had high expectations of being a teacher, of the kids in her class, of their friendships and actions. That Yankumi always wanted to continue teaching.

“Yes, but,” the Head Teacher smirked, “a promise is a promise, right?”

And as Shin wondered if Yankumi was going to punch the Head Teacher, and if he should stop her or not (probably not), everyone heard an amazing sound.

“Ummm,” the Principal (when did he get here?) was staring at Kuma’s test. “For question four, couldn’t choice one or two be correct?”

Everyone crowded around. “That’s right,” Fujiyama affirmed. “Head Teacher made a mistake with the answer key.”

“That means Kuma scored two more points.” Yankumi said aloud, then realized, “That makes 31 points!”

“Way to go, Kuma!” The whole class shouted, and Shin smiled broadly as his classmates saw their hard work pay off. The Head Teacher ran out (probably to go cry somewhere), and cheers erupted from everyone in the room as they all knew that Fujiyama-sensei could stay. Another happy ending.

 _Thanks to her_.

Shin shook the thought off. It was probably her fault for getting them into this ’30 points or higher’ mess. _But still. We couldn’t have pulled this off on our own_.

His friends, still feeling the rush of victory, charged past him as soon as school was out, running like mad men and shouting Shizuka-chan’s name the whole way. He shook his head at them and continued at a much more reasonable pace. As he turned the corner to head out the gate, he saw Noda and everyone else chanting something about “80 points means a date!” going one way, and heard girlish voices squeaking “Shinohara-saaannnn!” heading the other.

 _So noisy_ , Shin sighed. Boyish shouts and girlish squeals in front, plus some really annoying melody coming from the bushes.

Wait, the bushes?

Shin bent down and saw a small pink phone, ringing insistently.

“Whose is this?” He muttered to himself, then opened it. At least the person calling could tell him who it belonged to.

“Hello, Ojou? Ojou? It’s Tetsu. Ojou?” He looked at the phone in confusion. Who here was important enough to have grown men referring to her as ‘miss’ instead of her name?

 _Ah, well. I won’t know until I ask_ , Shin shrugged, then put the phone back up to his ear. _How bad can it be?_


	5. A Puzzling Problem

**Chapter Five! The Secret is Out! (To Shin, anyway)**

-          **So! Lots of creative license going on here, because they don’t show what Shin’s doing in the background in the drama. Hope you enjoy!**

-          **Time to learn about traditional Japanese houses!**

  *  **A genkan is the entry way a step below the rest of the house where people can take off their shoes (and change into slippers) before going in.**
  * **A chabudai is a short-legged table where families gather to eat.**
  * **When they eat, they traditionally sit on zabutons, which are sitting cushions, rather than chairs.**
  * **Sake is rice wine, a common Japanese alcoholic beverage.**



* * *

 

 “Um, hello?” Shin spoke into the small pink phone.

“Ojou? What happened to your voice? Are you sick? I will have Minoru make you hot pot and tea right now! I’m so sorry, Ojou! It’s from my lack of care you’re sick! Please don’t hurt me!”

Shin stared at the phone again. _Who was this? And who was this scary Ojou lady?_

“Um, this isn’t…Ojou. I found this phone on the ground.”

“Eeeh? So Ojou’s not sick? Minoru! Cancel the tea!”

“Uh, look, I’m heading home, so if you want to tell me whose phone this is, I can try and give it to them tomorrow. Do they live near Shirokin?”

“Shirokin?” There was a pause and then some incredibly loud whispering. “Minoru! Shirokin’s Ojou’s school, right?”

_Shirokin’s an all-boys school. Why would a girl go here? This wasn’t a manga, for heaven’s sake._

“Who is this?” The phone asked, suddenly suspicious.

“Sawada Shin. Are you going to tell me whose phone this is or what? What’s 'Ojou’s' real name?”

“Uhhhh, she doesn’t have one! We can’t give it to you! Come to this address! We’ll see you soon - bye!”

And then the line went dead. He stared at the stupid pink phone. Why did he have to come to them? Couldn’t they just tell him to meet whoever “Ojou” was somewhere tomorrow?

He sighed. He knew where the district was (a good 20 minutes out of his way), and he really didn’t want to keep the phone when they expected him to bring it (the guy on the line sounded kind of tough), so he rolled his eyes at the annoyance and started walking.

When he entered the area, he wondered what anyone from this district was doing at or near his school.

“Why do I have to return it?” He muttered to himself as he reached the address. This place seemed a lot nicer than the surrounding buildings. Maybe this “Ojou” is rich and has butlers. Butlers would call someone “Ojou”.

“I guess this is the place.” Just then, the phone rang with the same number.

“Hello. Thank you for coming all this way.” Weird. It’s like they knew exactly how long it took to get here from Shirokin.

“Uh, I’m at the front of your house.” Come to think of it, this guy sounded a bit rough for his butler theory.

Rough guy, rough neighborhood, really nice house. This was getting weirder all the time. Oh well. Ready or not…

“Here I come.” He walked through the giant gate and headed through the garden towards the house. It was a few minutes before he got to the doorway, and the name on the frame made him freeze.

“Oedo family?” He read, then felt a small seed of panic. Maybe it was a coincidence that these people had the same last name of one of the largest mobs in the country. Maybe it was also a coincidence that they had a really nice house in a really rough neighborhood and that they addressed some girl as “Ojou”. Maybe he was going to die.

 _Stop it_ , he told himself. _You’re just returning a phone_. Their Ojou’s phone. The daughter or niece or something of the leader of the yakuza’s phone. Did he somehow know her?

Shin opened the phone and looked for a name or a picture or even a phone charm that would give him a clue as to the owner’s identity. No pictures in the phone. He slowly turned it over.

And there, on the back, like any junior high girl’s phone, there was a small sticker from a photo booth. But the person in this sticker wasn’t a teenage girl. It was…

“Yankumi?” _What the…_

“Ah!” Shin looked up. “Thanks for coming!” The guy from the phone told him, then slapped the huge guy who bumped into him from behind. Shin stared at them. They looked like scary mob guys.

“Oh! Aniki,” And that was the scary mob way of saying ‘brother’. “This guy, he’s in Ojou’s class.”

“Huh?” Shin asked. Either there was a secret mob girl pretending to be a guy in his class or…

“You idiot!” The skinnier guy said, then slapped the fat guy again. They then looked at Shin hesitantly, almost as if they were afraid he would figure something out. Something that had to do with his class. And their Ojou. Whose phone had a picture of Yankumi.

“Ojou…” He said aloud, then glanced back down at the sticker. Yankumi _couldn’t_ be…

“Uh, why don’t you come inside? That way we can thank you properly.”

Shin immediately thought of (several hundred) reasons to not go inside yakuza headquarters. “Oh, no, it’s fine. It’s getting late and I should –”

“We insist.” Both men said together, staring at Shin expectantly.

 _Mobsters insist I go in to their mob mansion. Great. Fine. This doesn’t seem anything like a set up so I can get killed or blackmailed or… find out how they know Yankumi_.

Swallowing, Shin nodded once, then followed them in. He took off his shoes in the _genkan_ , then stepped up to the rest of the house. There were no chairs in this room, just cushions around the _chabudai_. They motioned for him to take a seat, then left.

He put the phone on the table and knelt down on the _zabuton_ , wiggling his toes experimentally. He hadn’t sat at a traditional set up like this in ages. Looking around, he tried to see if there were any obvious signs that this was a mob house.

There was a waving lucky cat behind him, but that was it. No swords, no guns, no blood. _Maybe I’m just being paranoid._

And then, two of the most mobster-looking guys he had ever seen entered the room. The leader wore a muted kimono and spoke in a deep gravel-like voice, while his companion in the dragon shirt sat behind him, looking serious.

“Thank you very much,” he growled out kindly, “for bring the cell phone.”

Shin nodded slowly, then added, “No problem,” just in case.

“Boss!” The big guy was back. “Would this be alright?” He handed over two tall bottles of sake.

“Oh, excellent!” The leader turned to Shin gravely, then formally handed it out to him. “It isn’t much, but take this.”

Shin waited for them to notice the obvious, then decided to respond as politely as possible.

“No, but thank you. I’m a minor.” Didn’t they know he was a student? And what the heck was he going to do with two giant sake bottles?

He watched, a little nervously, to see their reactions to his refusal.

The leader’s eyes widened, as if processing this new information, then he turned and slapped the big guy.

“Idiot!” He took the sake back. “We can’t give something like this to him!”

“Sorry.” The fat one apologized, ashamed that he hadn’t thought of this.

That somehow reassured him. They weren’t acting like they were going to kill him. They were all upset that they had gotten an inappropriate thank you gift. And they almost acted like a different version of his own little group. The kids he hung out with looked pretty rough too, but they were alright.

This reassurance resulted in him speaking up. Plus, he was dying to know.

“Excuse me,” This instantly earned him the attention of everyone in the room. “That photo sticker…” All of them immediately adopted panicked and/or terrified expressions.

All except the one who had talked to him on the phone.

“Ah, this is… Our friend’s distant cousin brought it!” Everyone quickly agreed.

“It seems that he liked this pretty girl,” the one the kimono nodded.

The dragon-shirted guy chimed in, “We’ve never seen her before.”

Shin looked at all of them, smiling and nodding and obviously relieved they had though up such brilliant lies.

“But earlier, didn’t you say that I was a student from Ojou’s class?” He addressed the big one, because if someone wanted to know the truth from his group, the fastest way was to ask Kuma.

“Yup!” He answered, happy to contribute.

The one in blue realized what had happened, and hurriedly slapped this version of Kuma for busting them.

“Um, you probably heard it wrong!” He amended, and everyone speedily added their support.

Shin was wondering how long they were going to play at this until they admitted that Yankumi lived here when a voice spoke from the side room.

“Hey, you guys. Stop it already.” Everyone turned and the entire right side of the table stood up in respect.

“Boss,” they greeted the older man who walked into the room, and one of them grabbed a zabuton for him.

“Poor excuses don’t sound good,” he rebuked them, then motioned at Shin. “He seems to know it all.”

Sitting up straight in surprise, Shin realized that this was the yakuza leader. The older man tossed the cushion out of the way, then knelt on the floor.

“I have a favor to ask of you, man to man.” The leader of the Oedo family addressed Shin formally.

A favor to the mob? _Shit._

But as he went on, Shin realized he was speaking as a mentor, not as a threatening mob boss. “Kumiko is struggling every day to be a good teacher to you guys.” He smiled fondly as he mentioned Yankumi, then became serious. “But if my business is known, she’ll get fired. I won’t ask you to be quiet on her behalf.”

That surprised Shin. He thought that was the first thing they would ask. Or command. Or threaten.

“But if you have the heart to accept her as your teacher, would you please, please keep it a secret?”

And then, Kuroda Ryuichiro, the 3rd Generation Odeo Family Yazuka Leader, bowed to Sawada Shin.

He couldn’t speak. This kind old man was the last thing he expected from a mob boss. But then, Yankumi was the last person anyone would think of as a teacher. And suddenly, he saw it. He saw Yankumi becoming who she was by growing up with this man. This man who could command hundreds, yet was saying ‘please’ and bowing to a high school student.

Shin nodded formally, then bowed in return.

“Thank you.” The older man said with a smile.

Then it got weird. There was cheering from the other men in the room, introductions were made as if he was a guest at a party. He found out the one in blue (who he had talked to on the phone) was Tetsu, the big one was Minoru, and the one in the kimono was Wakatsu. Dragon shirt guy introduced himself as Makoto, then tried to offer him some celebratory sake. When Shin again reminded him that he was underage, Makoto slapped Minoru as if it was his fault, then found him some tea instead. He learned that Kuroda-san was Yankumi’s grandfather, and that she had been raised by him and the rest of the gang since she was a little girl.

 _That would certainly explain why she doesn’t find a group of high school students intimidating_ , Shin thought as the rest of the men reminisced.

“Ah, Ojou has grown so much. She’s so kind, so gentle,” Wakamatsu smiled and sipped his sake.

“Except when she’s angry. Then she’s scary.” Minoru added, and everyone nodded vehemently.

Suddenly the clock rang out the time.

“9:30?! Oh no, Ojou should be home any minute! Goodbye Young Master Shin! Thank you for the phone! Best not let her know you came by!” Tetsu shouted as he ushered Shin back towards the _genkan_ so he could put on his shoes. As Shin turned to leave, he started to thank them for their hospitality and was interrupted by,

“You’re welcome! Goodbye! Watch your back!” And then they all disappeared in a flurry to clean the house.

As he walked home slowly, he tried to sort through the mountain of new information he had discovered. Yankumi was part of a yakuza family, if not part of the yakuza itself. She was raised by her grandfather, the leader of one of the biggest and most powerful clans out there, along with help from yakuza members. The idea was still a bit too large to plow through, so he approached it systematically.

_Alright, how does this affect the past?_

It explains a lot, that’s for sure. Like how she learned to fight. Or how strong she was. And why she was fine with her students being delinquents, as long as they acted according to the code of pride and dignity. Now he realized why he had gotten the weird sense that she was frightened when Noda revealed Fujiyama-sensei’s secret. She had a secret of her own, and being part of the yakuza family was a much bigger scandal than being a hostess.

_Okay, what about the present?_

Well, she’s hiding who she is from the Vice Principal and everybody else. She’s hiding it poorly from the students. _She’s still our teacher. Our dorky, clueless, weird teacher, but still, she’s ours._

He continued to think as he reached his apartment and got ready for bed.

_And the future?_

Well, the yakuza thing didn’t really affect the future too much as long as she didn’t give herself away. People wrote off her weird way of talking at first because she claimed she watched a lot of mob movies. Now, most of them were used to it. She only came and beat up gangs occasionally (and it makes sense now that she wasn’t scared of them either), and usually far away from school.  So it didn’t look like there was any reason for things to change in the future. She loves teaching, and she’s loyal to her own.

Shin froze, then repeated the thought out loud.

“She’s loyal to her own.” She had been part of her clan far longer than she had been their teacher. And the 3rd generation boss was getting older.

_What if she takes over her family’s business?_

Family trumps students every time. If she had to, would she lead the clan? Would she leave them?

For the rest of the night, all Shin could do was turn the question over and over as he tossed on his bed.

The night passed without an answer, and Shin put on his uniform and headed out to school. He met up with the guys, who were in the middle of a huge discussion about what attracted girls more; stuff or looks. Luckily, they didn’t expect him to talk much, so he could continue ruminating on his worrisome potential problem. They reached the school gate with a few minutes to spare, so Minami (of course) tried to redeem the time by attempting to flirt with the passing high school girls. After they all ran away in terror, the boys tried to pretend that they didn’t like them anyway.

“Ah, but there was this one nice cute girl,” Minami complained. “Right, Shin?”

“Not interested,” Shin commented as he turned slowly.

 _Not interested in this conversation, not interested in your romantic failings, and definitely not interested in flirting with high school girls_.

Minami apparently decided to investigate this. “I’ve been wondering for a while,” he said aloud as he slung his arm across Shin’s shoulders and the other guys gathered around. “Are you normal?”

Before he could decide whether he cared enough to respond or not, the woman who had been plaguing his thoughts leapt in front of them.

“GOOD MORNING EVERYONE! If you don’t hurry, you’ll be late for school.” She told them, grinning widely as always.

Shin stared at her, reevaluating her in light of this new revelation. She had left the Odeo Family house this morning, probably said hello to her mobster minions and 3rd generation boss grandfather, then headed out to school. And seeing her in person just made the question harder.

 _Are you going to leave us for them?_ He asked her silently. For a reason he wasn’t willing to consider, he didn’t want her to.

“Eh? Sawada, why are you looking at me like that?” He blinked as he came out of his reverie and saw Yankumi staring at him with a weird glint in her eyes.

“Oh, I know!”

_You know I know about your family? About who your grandfather is? Why you use slang for cops and fighting and ‘livin’ the good life’?_

She looked away as if she was a shy, delicate flower and asked, “You don’t by any chance have feelings for me?”

He almost jerked back in surprise.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” He told her, cutting her off before she got lost in whatever melodramatic scenario she had in her head. Having feelings for her would be utterly ridiculous. She was clueless, dorky, and weird. She was a teacher. She was five years older. She was part of a yakuza family. She was…

And suddenly, he couldn’t think of any more reasons.

Minami then reminded her that she had a staff meeting. Running like a mad woman, she warned them not to be late and sped off.

“As usual, she completely clueless.” Noda said with a smile.

 _And so are the rest of you_ , Shin thought. _You all have no idea who she really is._

For the rest of the day, Shin sat at his desk and thought. The fact that he didn’t sleep through any of his classes concerned the rest of his friends, but he paid them no mind. His mind kept turning in circles.

_She might leave us. She wouldn’t leave us. Her family might ask her to. They might not have to. Everyone calls her ‘Ojou’, as if she’s the heir already. The idea of having feelings for her was ridiculous. Right? Right. She’s overzealous, and doesn’t think things through and…and I’m not thinking about this anymore. Focus on the problem at hand._

As he puzzled and pondered, he began to hear vague voices around him.

“You wanna fight?!”

He sighed and turned in annoyance.

“Your breath stinks!”

“You stink!”

The twins tussled a bit, then fell over. The other students joined in the shouting and chaos and quickly cleared a space for fighting.

Shin ignored them the best he could, but everyone was very loud. _A teacher’s going to hear you_ , he predicted.

Uchi had the same thought. He shouted at the guy next to him to go keep watch for teachers.

“Um, Uchi…”

“What? You got a problem with that?” Uchi demanded, caught up in the energy of the fight.

“No, but…she’s already here.” A hesitant finger pointed out Yankumi, who was camped under a desk and cheering for the contestants.

“Come on you guys! What? You have no guts? Come on! Stand up! Go on, Oda! Yeah!” Shin turned to see her gleefully pounding her fist into her hand and shouting encouragement. When she finally noticed that the entire room had gone silent, she looked just as confused as they felt.

“What? Is that it?” She asked, sounding disappointed.

“Why didn’t you stop it?” Minami asked loudly.

Yankumi proceeded to explain what she thought was perfectly natural about the culture of fighting.

“Well, it’s a one-on-one fight. It’s not a _sashigoro_ , either.”

“Sashigoro?” One guy repeated the clearly mob slang word, probably more confused than before.

“What’s that?” Kuma added.

“It’s a knife fight. Don’t you guys know that?”

 _All the non-yakuza people don’t know that_ , Shin rolled his eyes.

“It’s normal not to know!” Uchi shouted, causing her to look slightly panicked.

“Huh? Is that so?” She asked with a nervous smile, while Shin simply muttered a “Baka”. It’s a wonder she hasn’t been caught yet.

“What’s this?!” Yelled the Head Teacher as he stormed in. Everyone stood as still as possible, while Yankumi hid behind the largest object she could find. Kuma.

He stared at her, trying to convey with his eyes that hiding was the dumbest option she could have gone with. If she had jumped up and ordered everyone back into their seats, the Head Teacher probably wouldn’t have been so suspicious. But now, she caught his eye and nodded confidentially, as if he was now involved in hiding her from the Head Teacher. He rolled his eyes and looked away (He seemed to be doing that a lot lately).

Needless to say, she and Kuma got caught, she got reprimanded, and then homeroom continued as usual. Shin tried to set aside his questions about Yankumi, but they kept showing up. Just like her.

School finally let out, and he and the guys started walking to a nearby restaurant. As the rest of them discussed how weird she was and how much yakuza tv she must watch at home, Shin looked up in surprise as he saw Tetsu and Minoru headed towards them.

Uchi, Noda, and Minami continued on with no idea how close they were to interacting with Yankumi’s other life. Shin and Tetsu passed each other with an equal distance between them and their large companions.

Kuma and Minoru paused, then turned and took a bite of their corn dogs in synchronization, each staring at a slightly different doppelganger. Tetsu and Shin, doppelgangers in their own right, called them to attention and got them moving again.

Tetsu met Shin’s gaze, then bowed slightly in acknowledgement. Shin returned the gesture, then watched them continue on to their food stand. He thought back to the conversation he had with Kuroda-san, about keeping quiet for Yankumi’s sake. His eyes widened as he realized that since he couldn’t ask Yankumi his questions, perhaps Tetsu would know about if she was going to take over the family business and leave all her students behind. Not that he was going to reveal that he cared. Because he didn’t. Care, that is. At all.

Decision made, he turned and shouted to the rest of the guys, “Hey, why don’t you guys go ahead?”

“Huh? Why?” they asked, since Shin rarely did anything besides hang out with them after school.

“I have something to do.” He answered, in an unusually decided tone, then walked away with an abnormal amount of energy.

Uchi voiced everyone’s question. “What is wrong with him?”

Shin ignored them all and headed towards the takoyaki stand. After his friends left, Tetsu and Minoru greeted him (Minoru with more energy and volume) and offered him some fried octopus. After standing a while, Shin looked at Tetsu and spoke hesitantly.

“I, um, I have a question.”

Tetsu nodded as if he had expected this. “What is it that you want to know?” he asked.

After taking a breath and shifting his weight, Shin finally said, “Is Yamaguchi-sensei,” (he didn’t want Tetsu to know they had a nickname for her) “going to quit school eventually and take over the family business?”

It seemed like an eternity before he answered.

“I don’t know.” _Great. That doesn’t help me._ “Becoming a school teacher has been her dream. People around her think of her as the 4 th generation boss.” _Hence the ‘Ojou’_.

“But…” Shin leapt on that. There was a ‘but’. Maybe there was hope.

“I agree with the boss on this. I want her to take the path she chooses. Cuz we…” and here Tetsu took a breath.

“…love her.”

Right then, Shin realized that Tetsu, in his own head, was saying ‘I’, not ‘we’. He loved her. And Shin was willing to bet anything that Yankumi had no idea.

Tetsu shook his head, as if coming back to reality, then turned to Shin.

“We’re counting on you.” He said with a tight smile, then went back to the fryer. It wasn’t a threat (Don’t snitch!) or a warning (Don’t let us down!), but it somehow invited him into a family. A circle of people who would do anything to protect her.

Shin allowed himself a small grin. It felt good to be part of that.

He arrived at school a little early the next day (he had a good night’s sleep), and just as he set his bag down on his chair, Noda arrived with a huge beaming smile on his face.

“Kuma-chan!” He called, then repeated Kuma’s name several dozen times more. “I just found out. That Momoyuri girl from yesterday. Her name is Ami Morisaki.”

“Eh?” Kuma said, also growing a smile on his face.

Now Shin was interested. Something had happened the other night, apparently involving Kuma and a girl.

“Hey, what’s going on?” He asked, perching on a nearby desk.

“Kuma had a parfait dumped on him yesterday!” Uchi told him with glee.

Noda took the dramatic route. “A tie made with a handkerchief! She might be thinking about you, too.”

As the other students gathered around, Kuma protested that he heard she had a boyfriend.

“Take her away from him!” Minami told him, and the rest of the class joined in with their own encouragements.

“Kuma. When it comes to love, you gotta strike first.” Everyone nodded, then looked at Yankumi in surprise as she had somehow appeared in the middle of the giant group.

 “How do you do that?” Noda demanded, although from her blissful smile, she wasn’t hearing a word he said.

“Ah, spring is a season for love.” She sighed dreamily.

“Spring is over.” Shin informed her. She didn’t listen to him either.

“Kuma, don’t hesitate. Psych yourself up for it. Boldly tell her how you feel, see?”

Now, wait a minute. No one just walks up and declares how they feel about someone else. And what did she know about spring or love or feelings?

“Hey.” He had to stop her before she latched onto this with her usual zeal and lack of thinking.

“Hey,” He tapped her shoulder to get her attention. “Don’t give irresponsible advice.” If the girl has a boyfriend, it wouldn’t help anyone if a guy she met once in a diner declared he was in love with her. What tv show did Yankumi think this was?

“Irresponsible?” She managed to look indignant. “I’m just trying to tell him how - ”

“Do you have enough experience to be giving advice?” He interrupted loudly, and leaned in to be sure she was listening. And maybe to see what her reaction was. Her crush on the detective guy was just a one sided crush. Right?

All twenty-six students leaned forward as well to better hear this revelation into Yankumi’s love life. Shin watched her blink, then check her watch.

“Let’s start class.” She said quietly, changing the subject completely.

As his classmates fell over in disappointment, Shin stood up smirking. No experience at all. Poor little innocent teacher. He suddenly felt much better about life.

In fact, the next day, he decided to treat himself by taking a nap on the roof during homeroom. It felt good to sleep in the sun again. He was awakened by loud steps coming up the stairs and Kuma’s voice shouting, “Shin! Shin!”

Heaving a sigh, Shin sat up. His nap had been good while it lasted. When Kuma finally arrived, panting,  he explained in worried tones what had happened.

“Yankumi’s mad at us!”

Great. They hadn’t had a run-in with Yankumi for a while, and things had been going so well lately.

“What happened?” He asked.

“Well, one of the class A guys snitched on some guys who were smoking at the arcade, and so they grabbed him and were hitting him, and then she came and yelled at us because it was violence, not a fight, and then the other guys asked her why she was ok with the fight yesterday but not today and then she got mad then they got mad then they left.”

Shin sat a moment, processing Kuma’s information dump. He could certainly envision the scenario clearly. “Violence, not a fight” sounded like a yakuza distinction. She was fine with the scuffle yesterday because (according to her), it was one-on-one and there were no knives. He could imagine she wouldn’t approve if a bunch of them ganged up on one kid. Thing is, she probably didn’t understand why they didn’t understand. He sighed. Just what he needed – another mess.

He and Kuma headed to the usual restaurant and found a majority of the class there, complaining about “Yankumi’s high and mighty attitude”.

“Fighting and violence are different, huh?” Minami mocked. “It’s meaningless unless you win!”

And that’s the problem. They were all told that fighting was bad and that they shouldn’t do it, which they all ignored, because what did the useless adults know about such things? Yankumi had grown up with an understanding of when and how to fight.

“Kuma told me you guys had a run-in with Yankumi.” Shin said as he walked by.

“I just don’t get what she was saying at all!” Minami pounded the table in frustration.

“Beating up on one guy, everyone does it.” One of the other guys chimed in, trying to justify their actions.

“That’s right! Shin, you think so too, right?” Noda asked. If Shin had agreed, everyone’s minds would be put at ease because it was just another teacher telling them not to fight in order to stay out of trouble. But he couldn’t, because Yankumi wasn’t just telling them this to say it – she had a code, and she expected them to follow it. She was mad because they broke her code, they acted dishonorably. She was disappointed because she expected more from them. _That’s_ what made her different.

_“Kumiko is struggling every day to be a good teacher to you guys.”_

_“Becoming a school teacher has been her dream.”_

“Sorry, but I vote for her this time.” He told them, realizing that a few months earlier, he would never have even considered standing up for a teacher. But he hadn’t known Yankumi a few months earlier.

Everyone stared at him, processing what this response meant. It meant they weren’t off the hook. It meant that Shin thought they did something wrong too.

The next morning, Shin found Kuma before school started and took him out for breakfast. Kuma was slightly confused, but happy to be getting free food. Shin would never have told him, but he figured a free breakfast was a good way to thank him for standing up for Yankumi and letting him know what had happened. Plus, he could tell there hadn’t been much progress with his crush on Ami-chan.

“Are you going to eat more?” Shin asked, hiding a smile as Kuma cleared his fifth plate.

“Well, I was going to stop, but there’s still more room here,” He grinned and rubbed his belly.

“I’m going to the toilet. Shut up and eat.” Shin told him, which was as close to a thank-you as Kuma was likely to get from him.

When he came back, Kuma was gone, and there were no new plates on the table. Puzzled, he called Kuma’s cell.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Shin, I’m gonna go help that girl. Those Jinguji guys are gonna get her. I gotta help.” And then the line went dead.

Throwing some money on the table, Shin ran outside. He had no idea where Kuma went, or how to find him. Damn it, why didn’t Kuma take him along for back up? He was an idiot for going in alone.

 _And if I don’t help him, who will?_ He stopped, then looked at his phone. For the first time in a very long time, he could call an adult to help. And she would.

He met her in the warehouse district with more bad news. Noda had texted him that the Jinguji guys had beaten up one of their own, they were at warehouse #13, and 3-D was going to get even.

“Those guys…” she muttered, then took off running with Shin by her side.

They arrived just in time. The entire class was advancing on the gang, who were armed with pipes, with a beaten and unconscious Kuma in the middle.

“Stop it you guys!” Yankumi commanded as she and Shin rushed to Kuma’s side. She checked to make sure he was breathing, then confronted the rest of the students.

“You guys, what are you going to do here?” She asked softly, but firmly.

Uchi stepped forward. “Hey, don’t get in the way.”

“These guys are responsible for the serial attacks.”

“They got Yagyu and Kuma, too.”

Yankumi turned to glare at the assembled gang. “Don’t make a move on them!” She shouted.

“You want us to hold back when they got our guys?!”

“Don’t you get it? If you make a move, you’ll be putting yourselves down to their level.” She turned back to face them. “If you get even with them, they’ll do the same. When will it end? There’s no end to it!”

Shin suddenly had a vision of Kuroda-san saying these same words to her, impressing the seriousness of actions in the yakuza world. She knew how these conflicts ended. They didn’t. They just grew larger and larger until there was no way to stop it.

Unless an outside party intervened.

With her pigtails and glasses gone, she suddenly looked very frightening as she pivoted slowly and started to walk, step by step, towards the small group of pipe-carrying students. And when she spoke, she used her chillingly calm yakuza voice.

“It seems that you have taken good care of my precious students.”

“She’s a teacher?” One of them whispered loudly in confusion.

“Aren’t you ashamed of yourselves? You don’t have the guts to fight alone, do you?” She tilted her head in contempt. “Is it fun to vent your frustration like this?”

“Shut up! These guys are useless garbage to society!” They yelled in return. “No one cares if we beat them up.”

The whole class of 3-D advanced a few steps, ready to attack.

“Don’t push your luck!” Yankumi shouted back, startling everybody. “You guys are utterly pitiful. Don’t you know how to have a decent fight?”

And then, as if to prove her point, three of the members ran at her with their weapons raised. No one got the chance to use them. Swift blocks and punches quickly landed all three on the ground.

Murmurs of amazement echoed through the group. They had never seen anything like this.

One of the leaders that she had knocked to the ground suddenly rose to his feet and headed for her.

“Yankumi!” Shin shouted in warning.

She saw him coming, saw his weapon on the ground, then closed her eyes and braced herself.

The sound of his fist hitting her face reverberated through the warehouse. As everyone stared in shock, Shin knew that if she uttered the word, then entire class would rip her attacker apart. But she did no such thing. As a trickle of blood made its way past her lip, she looked at the student, completely unfazed.

“It hurts, doesn’t it?” She asked him quietly, unexpectedly, as he clutched his hand in pain. “It hurts a lot when you strike someone bare-handed. It’s not just the hand, is it? You felt a lot of weight, didn’t you? Hitting someone is like that. Not understanding an obvious thing like this, don’t go swinging a toy like that!”

And then they understood. They understood the difference between fighting and violence as they looked between the gang and Yankumi. Fighting requires strength and pain from the contestants. The willingness to take a blow. Violence was cowardice; the fear of getting hurt while hurting others.

Kuma regained consciousness, diverting everyone’s attention. As he sat up and stared at Yankumi in surprise, she knelt down with a smile on her face.

“Kuma, you’re a man, aren’t you?” She asked rhetorically, then ruffled his hair proudly. Motioning to the girl behind her, Yankumi explained, “You fought to protect her, didn’t you?” Kuma gazed at the girl for a long moment.

“That’s a real fight.” She added, then stood up and addressed everyone there.

“Listen up you guys! For a man, a time will come when you have to fight to protect something. When that time comes, how much you can do will determine your worth. The basic form of fighting is one-on-one bare-handed. Don’t mix that up with cowardly violence. Fighting is done with a passion to protect something dear to you.”

With that, the students of 3-D saw her as a real teacher. One who wasn’t just teaching them how to do math, but how to live rightly, how to act honorably, and how to fight properly. She expected them to follow her code, and for the first time for many of them, they didn’t want to disappoint their teacher.

Uchi started by going to help Kuma up, Minami went to see if Ami-chan was alright, and their classmates followed.

“What about them? Shouldn’t we report them to the police?” Minami asked when they had all reassembled.

“After all I said, they’ll surely understand what to do.” She answered confidently, then spoke to the gang directly. “You guys take responsibility for what you did.” Their leader sank to the ground, and the rest of them hung their heads in shame.

And with that, their teacher, a full head shorter than most of her students, dressed in blue jerseys and bleeding from her lip, led them proudly out of the warehouse.

Ami-chan thanked Kuma, then said good-bye and walked away, but not quite fast enough to escape the loud catcalls that Kuma’s classmates teased him with. Once the whistles and shouts faded away, Uchi said what they were all thinking.

“Anyways, Yankumi _really_ blew me away this time.”

Minami added, “Where did you get trained to be like that?”

 _By her yakuza minions and her 3 rd generation boss grandfather_, Shin answered them silently.

“I, um, I learned my moves from Bruce Lee’s book!” She stumbled rather clumsily onto this new excuse, then tried to demonstrate her moves and promptly threw out her hip. Shin rolled his eyes as she looked at them with a nervous smile to see if they bought it.

“Would you keep today’s event a secret from the school?” She pleaded. “I’d get in trouble for fighting.”

“We won’t tell,” Minami told her smugly.

“Of course not,” Noda affirmed. _We protect our own_.

They then all headed back to school, with Uchi and Noda leading everyone in a childhood song about a Kuma-bear talking to a nice young lady, which the actual Kuma did not appreciate.

Shin and Yankumi lagged behind a bit, and Shin finally got to talk to her about his new insider information.

“Why do you cover it up?” He asked.

“Cover what up?”

“Well, Iguess it’d be bad if you were known as the heir to the Odeo Family, wouldn’t it?”

“It’s true, I guess that…” Her delayed brain then realized what he had just said. “You, you, you… How do you know that?!”

“The one that returned your cell phone was me.” He told her boldly.

“What?” She demanded, then looked decidedly panicked.

“I won’t tell.” He assured her. “If you get fired for that, school won’t be fun anymore.” He met her gaze for a moment, then turned away before she could cry or laugh or punch or ruffle his hair. Or think he had feelings for her again. Because that was still ridiculous. Completely.

Shin walked away, but still heard her sniff loudly and mutter, “You rascal!”

She then charged to the front of the group. “You guys are the best! Alright, let’s race towards that huge sun together! Let’s go! Oh!” And then, she took off running as 3-D looked after her fondly.

“What a moron.” Noda said affectionately.

“But she’s fun,” Uchi amended.

As Yankumi kept running and yelling nonsensical inspirational things, Shin smiled broadly. Everything was alright again.


	6. Being Brave

**Woohoo! Episode 6! We’re almost halfway done!**

**Quick note, although his name is spelled Abe, it’s pronounced ‘Ah-bay’. Like sake. This kid would be kind of strange if his name was Abraham.**

**Anyway, read, enjoy, and review!**

* * *

 

Sawada Shin never thought of himself as a leader. Leaders were like generals, calling their troops to battle, or presidents, making speeches to the masses. Not long-haired high school students in the drop-out class.

But when he first transferred to Shirokin, he found himself falling into that role. He wasn’t quite sure why. Maybe it was because they had heard he got expelled from his last school by punching a teacher for wrongfully harassing a student. Maybe it was because he was the only one to ever consider what the consequences of their actions would be. Maybe it was because he hated teachers as much as they did, or even more. But somehow, over time, he realized that his classmates all looked at him to see his reaction before they made major decisions. They followed his lead on how to treat teachers and adults. They came to trust him.

Shin tried his best to protect that trust.

He fought against the way that the Vice Principal and all the other teachers treated them. He fought off the gangs that his friends offended. He tried to help them make smart decisions.

Decisions like staying away from Abe and the other bullies at Shirokin. When he transferred halfway through his first year, he mainly kept to himself, but observed everyone around him. He saw that Abe was leading a group of guys that included Kuma and Minami, and that it wasn’t a group of friends. These boys used their numbers to pick on anyone they wanted, and Abe was using them to make himself feel powerful.

Shin knew what made bullies. Bullies were kids who wanted power. Usually, they had no power at home or in the classroom, so they picked on the weak so they could feel strong. Last year, their group chose a kid called Yuki as a target. He didn’t fight back, or protest, so they just kept it up. When Yuki finally quit coming to school, it served as a bit of a wake-up call for Kuma and Minami. They realized that Yuki had forfeit his future because his present was miserable. Because of them.

Back then, he noticed that Kuma and Minami weren’t happy with Abe’s group anymore. He also saw that they had no idea how to get out. After observing where they usually went to talk, he positioned himself on the stairs nearby and waited.

“I don’t like it anymore,” Kuma had complained to Minami, his hair then dyed a bright red.

Minami, who wore his hair in a highlighted ponytail, had responded, “Well, it’s not like we can tell him we wanna leave. So what do we do?”

With no clear plan of action, the two boys had sat in puzzlement for a minute before Shin had decided to speak.

“You could always avoid him.” Shin said, examining his fingernails in great detail. After a few moments of turning their heads every which way to locate the phantom voice, they spotted him.

“What?” Minami had asked.

“He’s in another class. Just hang out in 2-D instead of with him.” Shin elaborated as briefly as he could. He wasn’t one for big speeches, and found that the less he said, the more others had to think about what he did say.

“I hadn’t thought of that.” Kuma said in a tone of amazement.

Minami slapped him, then looked up at Shin’s perch on the stairs. “Would that work?” His voice was laced with both suspicion and hope.

Shin had met his gaze, then shrugged as nonchalantly as he could before walking away. And that was that. Minami and Kuma quit hanging around Abe and his group, and started hanging out with Shin and Uchi and Noda. While Abe suspected why they were suddenly busy, he couldn’t do much without a direct confrontation. That’s not to say that he didn’t occasionally harass Kuma and Minami for a while, but one stare-down with Shin encouraged him to seek goons elsewhere.

And now, they were in 3-D. All of them had changed in some way, be it their hair or disposition or friends. Shin could even admit to himself that some of that change was from him, and was forced to acknowledge that a lot of the current change came from Yankumi.

He looked up from his musings as he watched her put up different kinds of posters (all with absurd drawings of herself) on the chalkboard. She was changing them all, but in good ways. She taught Kuma not to do cowardly things on her first few days. Minami had told him about the grand speech about friendship she had given him in front of the class. Noda would die before admitting that she had given him advice on how to properly prove his love. Uchi knew that he owed her one for catching that thief for him. She had inspired the whole class to study, instructed them on how and when to fight.

Shin sat up as a realization struck him. _She’s earning our trust_.

Just then, a bang jolted him out of his thoughts. Yankumi was gripping the edges of the table as she announced to the class, “Next week is the sports competition.”

Instantly, rejoicing spread throughout the classroom. 3-D saw it as a whole day free of classes and teachers. Shin watched as Yankumi predictably drew the wrong conclusion.

“Oh, you guys are excited, aren’t you?” Pounding the blackboard enthusiastically, she shouted, “Let’s shed some hot tears and sweat together!”

He watched her expressions comically morph from enthusiasm to confusion as the class then began discussing what they would do on their approaching day off. She then began wandering aimlessly through the room, trying to make sense of this turn of events.

“We don’t like to sweat.” Noda informed her casually.

“Right. Sweaty guys aren’t popular nowadays.” Uchi added, as if it should be obvious.

Yankumi looked even more pathetically confused. “But you guys looked happy just now…”

Shin decided to take pity on her. “They’re happy because a sports competition means no class all day.”

As the rest of the class chorused their agreement, she pouted sadly and murmured, “I see…”

_She looks almost cute like that_ , Shin thought before widening his eyes in shock. _Where did_ that _come from?_

“Yankumi, why am I down for table tennis?” Came a voice from the front of the class. Everyone suddenly realized that all her posters had names on them, assigning each of them to a particular sport. As they all pushed to the front to see what team Yankumi had the temerity to place them with, she smiled proudly and told them that she had put together the best teams considering their aptitude and personality. When she finished, the students of 3-D stared at her while Shin noticed a particular name on the basketball team.

“Hey, you’re on a team too?” He asked confusedly. _What that allowed?_

“Oh, you noticed,” She deferred demurely. Uchi used his whole body to point to the name on the paper and declared that it was obvious.

“We were one person short, so adding me makes it just right. I’m in!” She exclaimed. The class shook their heads and went back to their seats, grumbling about being forced to participate.

The next day was even worse. She began by writing “Go for First Place!” on the chalkboard and declaring that they would start with special training for the competition. As the complaints began, she interrupted by telling them that she would give them something if they won.

The class leaned forward, always interested in gifts, as Shin stared from his seat in the back. He knew she was a cheapskate (the “reward” of cafeteria food for catching the thief came to mind), so he was fairly suspicious of any gift she would give in exchange for victory.

“If you win…” She smiled at each of them, then revealed her grand plan. “I’ll give you a kiss on the cheek!”

The boys of 3-D stared in puzzlement. “From who?” Someone asked.

“Me, of course!” Yankumi waited for the expected cries of joy and was met with the students recoiling in horror.

“Oh, I see. You don’t like the cheek part…” Shin saw her furrow her brows as she tried to work around her morals, and he couldn’t take it anymore. He was literally shaking with silent laughter.  He knew that the 3-C guys were all excited about getting a kiss from their ‘Shizuka-chan’ if they won, so she must have somehow thought that it would work for her too.

“Isn’t that a penalty?” Uchi shouted while facing the wall. Her face then went from puzzling out a moral dilemma to angry and offended. Shin put his hand over his eyes as he tried his best not to laugh out loud. If he did, her delicate feminine pride was likely to be hurt even more, which would probably result in her getting hugely embarrassed or kicking his ass.

It was then that the Vice Principal stormed in. “Hey you guys, be quiet! Have a quiet homeroom hour even without Yamaguchi-sensei.” He commanded.

“Um, I’m here,” Yankumi told him, which only made him hang his head in shame. He then started in on his favorite game of insulting 3-D. He spoke to Yankumi as if the rest of them couldn’t hear him and told her that it was pointless to train because 3-D didn’t have the motivation and couldn’t win anyway since they were bound to be disqualified for rule-breaking.

Shin glanced around the classroom as everyone else glared at the Vice Principal. _Well, you’re certainly solving our motivation problem_ , he told Head Teacher silently.

When he called them losers, that was the last straw. Uchi marched up to the front, followed by everyone except Shin, who watched from the back. Even the Head Teacher wasn’t stupid enough to challenge 3-D unless he knew that they couldn’t win. And when he told Yankumi that each student was limited by one sport, and that the teacher couldn’t participate, Shin saw the source of his confidence. 3-D was short one player, so they couldn’t win no matter what. The rest of the class returned angrily to their seats, knowing when they were beat.

“Don’t worry,” Yankumi said to them as she leafed through her book of attendance. “There’s one more person in this class called Yuki.”

“Yuki? Never heard of him,” Echoed from around the class as Shin’s gaze slid to Kuma and Minami. The rest of the class may not really remember the quiet little kid that was picked on daily, these two certainly did. Both of them glanced at each other, then stared uncomfortably at the floor as memories of who they used to be and what they used to do came flooding back.

“He hasn’t been coming to school, but I’ll use every means to get him to come.” Yankumi spoke confidently, obviously latching on to another cause she knew nothing about.

“You sure you want to make a promise you can’t keep?” Needled the Vice Principal. Shin saw the yakuza steel flash in her eyes as she glowered at the Head Teacher, then turned to face the class. He could almost hear the triumphant trumpets as she made her yakuza call to arms.

“Alright you guys! At the sports competition, with all 27 members, let’s give ‘em a good reckoning!”

The obviously yakuza word and phrasing shocked everyone into silence. The Head Teacher repeated the word in bewilderment. “Reckoning?”

Yankumi’s eyes widened as she tried to come up with a convincing lie quickly. She ended up with “I meant, let’s look respectable!”, which Shin was sure fooled no one.

“Baka,” he mouthed from the back. For someone brought up by a yakuza leader, she wasn’t very sneaky.

“Operation 3-D First Place Winner commences…now!” She continued, hoping everyone would forget her slip-up. “Oh!” Her battle cry went unanswered except for the bell ending class. The entertaining part of the class over, Shin now focused his attention back on Kuma and Minami, who were still ruminating on unpleasant memories.

For the first few days, practice was a disaster. Shin then heard from Noda that Yankumi had brought in friends of her cousin to teach the basketball team awesome winning strategies. When Uchi demonstrated the right block with the elbow to the chest on Kuma, Shin began to have suspicions that Tetsu and Minoru were lending a hand. He was walking back to the classroom when he heard Kuma and Minami on the hallway above him.

“Boy I’m hungry!” Kuma declared, but Minami was prevented from making a comment about how Kuma was always hungry by the appearance of Abe and his other bully-boy.

“Hey, is it true that Yuki in on your basketball team?” Abe asked snidely. Shin moved closer to keep an eye on things. “Looks like we’ll win by default. With you guys on the team and with us as an opponent, there’s no way he’ll show up.” He grinned maliciously and Shin ground his teeth in anger. He hated people who fed off fear.

“Don’t waste your time practicing anymore.” Abe added, and Minami had to hold Kuma back from attacking him, though Shin felt like slugging the guy himself.

His parting barb was a sarcastic “Good luck to you all,” and Shin could see the effort Minami put into keeping still. Yankumi’s lecture about where and when to fight seemed to be sinking in. Then the boys noticed him.

“Shin,” Minami said. _What are we supposed to do? Should we fight him? Ignore him? Avoid him? Is he right? What do we do?_

As Kuma and Minami looked at him expectantly, Shin couldn’t think of any words of his own. But he had heard an appropriate phrase earlier in the day.

“Like Yankumi said – let’s give them a good reckoning.” He told them, then walked away, adding one more thing to his list of worries. He had just reached a pillar that hid him from sight when he heard Yankumi’s cheerful voice call out.

“What’s up, guys?” She walked up and they noticed she had changed clothes.

“Are you going to Yuki’s?” Kuma asked.

“Yeah.” She answered, then saw them exchange looks and immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion. “By any chance, are you coming with me?” She guessed hopefully.

Minami corrected her in a sad tone, “If we come it’ll make it harder for him to come back.”

“Huh? Why?”

The boys looked at each other, then decided to tell Yankumi the truth. “Last year we tormented him with Abe from 3-C. There was no reason to pick on him. Yuki just happened to be our target. Anyone else would have done, too. It’s our fault that he stopped coming to school.” As Minami finished, they both glanced hesitantly at Yankumi, waiting for her reaction.

Her face unreadable, she stepped towards them. Shin saw both Kuma and Minami close their eyes and brace themselves for her rebuke, be it an earnest punch or a heartfelt lecture. All three boys were surprised to hear her speak in a soft, thoughtful tone.

“Now I understand what happened.”

Kuma and Minami opened their eyes to stare at her in surprise.

“You’re not going to scold us?” Kuma asked in disbelief.

She gave them a gentle smile. “You guys already know, don’t you?”

They both looked to the floor as they thought. They knew they had dishonored her code. They knew it was cowardly. They knew it was wrong.

Yankumi smiled again and ruffled their hair, which was her way of saying it was alright. That she knew they knew. That she was proud of them for knowing.

The hair ruffling resulted in Minami trying to protect his carefully groomed mane and Kuma making half-hearted protests for her to stop. Neither action fooled her, so she attacked their hair again.

Shin had to take a moment to savor what had just happened. She had the chance to scold them, to rightly rebuke them, but because she saw that they recognized what they did was wrong, she gave them affection instead. Shin smiled. He had someone to help protect their trust, to guide them on the right path. And he liked that.

Before they knew it, it was the week of the sports competition. For the first time in their history, all of 3-D was dressed and ready for the practices. Wearing a ridiculous headband that declared “3-D Will Win!”, Yankumi gave them a pep talk and sent them on their way with an enthusiastic “Oh!”. Despite her energy and their new motivation, 3-D’s skill set for the different games was still lacking.

Yankumi started trying any new approach to get Yuki to come to school. She even dragged Minami and Kuma down to his house, though Shin could have told her that it wouldn’t work. Just as he thought, Minami told him that as soon as Yuki saw them he ducked back into his house with a look of fear and slammed the door.

Practices continued, and while they slowly improved, Shin thought that it wasn’t their ability that would matter; victory really depended on whether they could hold their tempers. Even in practice games, fights still broke out about different plays and rules.

The day before the competition, Shin went back to the classroom to grab his bag after soccer practice was over. He heard the door creak open and saw Tetsu cautiously peek his head in, as if he was entering forbidden territory. When Tetsu saw Shin, he straightened up in recognition and asked if he knew where ‘Ojou’ was.

“We’ve gotta start practicing soon.” He offered as an explanation, and mimed throwing a basketball to emphasize his point.

“She probably went to Yuki’s.” Shin answered. She had gone to Yuki’s every day after school for a week now, and there was still no sign of him coming back.

“Oh, I see.” Tetsu said with a thoughtful look.

“She may be wasting her time, though.” Shin continued with a sigh. He knew that Yuki was her new cause, and that she would latch onto him like a leech until he gave in, but he had seen how Abe’s group had treated him. He seriously doubted if even Yankumi could make a difference with Yuki.

“She can’t help but keep trying.” Shin looked at Tetsu with a hint of curiosity. He knew it was Yankumi’s nature to keep after someone until they changed or she died trying, but he had no idea why she was that way.

But he would bet that Tetsu did.

“Why?” He asked, trying to hide how interested he was about Yankumi’s life. How she thought. Why she acted the way she did. _I want to know everything about her_ , he suddenly wanted to say before he told himself to shut up.

Tetsu thought a moment, then met Shin’s gaze with gravity in his voice. “Can you keep secret what I’m about to tell you?”

_If it’s for Yankumi, wild horses couldn’t drag it out of me_ , is what he thought. “Yes,” is what he said.

Tetsu nodded, then paused, collecting his thoughts. “Ojou lost her parents when she was seven and my boss took her in.” Shin’s eyes widened. He knew she lived with her grandfather, but he hadn’t really thought about why, or what had happened to her parents.

“For a while after that, she would come home all scratched up. Some kid at school had told her Boss was a bad guy, and beat her up. Wakamatsu wanted to go teach that brat a lesson, but Boss stopped him. He told Ojou that the important thing was to get up on her own and face the bully. He said that unless she was strong, no matter how much they tried to help her, she wouldn’t be able to stand up on her own. After that Boss trained her every day, telling her that you can’t say your strength is real until both body and soul are strong. So every day, Ojou slammed into him, got thrown down, and got up. Her strength comes from that experience. So she can’t leave Yuki alone.”

Shin heard the compassion, the pride in his voice as he described how strong she was even as a child. Shin met Tetsu’s eyes and thought to himself, _I can see why you love her._

“I guess I talked too much,” Tetsu finished, coming out of his reverie. He smiled at Shin, then left. Shin returned the brief smile, then found himself blinking rapidly. It’s not that he was crying, because he never cried, and that would be weak and stupid. It was just… now that he knew more about her, how she lost her parents as a kid, how she was bullied, how she was different from everyone else, he knew instinctively that she never felt sorry for herself. That she always wanted to get stronger. And since she had been weak, been powerless, and had become strong, become powerful, she wanted to help others do the same.

As he walked home with the rest of the guys after basketball practice (they told him Yuki still hadn’t shown up), he was even quieter than usual. He kept picturing a smaller version of Yankumi, dirty and scratched up, slamming into her grandfather, falling down, and getting back up. He realized that had been her strategy from the start of the school year. Every time they had pushed back, pushed her away, she had simply gotten up, brushed herself off, and came at them again. She never gave up. She never gave up on them.

“Man…I wonder if Yuki will show up tomorrow.” Uchi said aloud. Noda shrugged and Minami and Kuma looked at each other briefly. Shin sighed. After a week of no success, he was fairly sure even Yankumi had realized that Yuki was hopeless. She may never give up on them, but she didn’t even know Yuki.

And then, as if his thoughts had summoned her, there she was.

“Yankumi?” He asked softly, in disbelief, which drew everyone’s attention to their teacher up ahead.

She was there. With Yuki. He kept slamming into her, and then after a few moments, she would push him back onto the ground. Shin walked forward, almost without knowing it, as if drawn by her presence.

“What’s wrong? Can’t you get up yourself?” She asked Yuki in a voice that was strong, but not cruel.

“Don’t wait until someone gives you a hand. If you do, you’ll continue to be a wimp. People don’t extend courtesy and compassion to those who can’t stand firmly on their own feet. People are not so nice as to lend a hand to those running away all the time.” She told him, Shin realized, in her grandfather’s voice. She was trying to help Yuki in the same way her grandfather had helped her _. But you’re not ‘people’_ , Shin thought. _You do all those things._

Yuki got back up, then launched himself at her. After a few moments of struggle, he fell back down.

“Is that all you’ve got?!” She shouted, in a voice that was tired, yet determined. Tetsu’s voice echoed through his mind as she yelled, “Slam into me with all your might!”

_“Every day, Ojou slammed into him, got thrown down, and got up.”_

“Everyone wants to run away when there’s trouble. But if you run away then, that’s it, isn’t it? Even when something bad happens, you gotta pick yourself up and keep going! Isn’t that what life’s all about?” She told Yuki in an earnest tone that sounded strangely close to tears. She was giving Yuki her own thoughts, her own strength. She was telling him what she said to herself when she was sad, when she was weak, when she was tired. Shin felt almost jealous.

“What do you say to that?!” At this, Yuki gathered himself one last time, and threw himself at her in tired desperation. For a long moment, nothing happened. And then, suddenly, they both fell to the soft sand on the ground. Shin’s eyes widened. Yuki did it. He had faced Yankumi and had overcome. He had stood strong and defeated an obstacle for the first time in a long while.

Yankumi eventually sat up a bit, then looked at Yuki with a worn smile.

“There you go. Don’t forget that. As you just did, pick yourself up and face the challenge.” Yuki gazed at her a moment, then slowly got up, and holding his arm, made his way back home.

“Come to tomorrow’s sports competition.” She called after him. Yuki didn’t respond, but just kept walking exhaustedly. “Come by all means! I’ll be expecting you!”

When silence met her words, she sighed and looked down at the ground, lost in her own thoughts. Shin took this opportunity to walk towards her, and the rest of the boys followed. Yankumi glanced up in surprise as she heard footsteps and saw who they belonged to.

“You guys,” She started, then asked, “Were you watching?” as if she would be embarrassed if she wasn’t so tired.

Kuma and Minami stared at her with faces filled with guilt.

“Yankumi…” Kuma began, but was unsure what to say. They had just seen how much effort and work and emotion went into undoing what they had done.

She saw their faces and gave them a weak laugh. “What’s with the gloomy faces?” She teased, then looked down the road. “The rest is up to him.”

As she gazed down at the ground, a look of weary satisfaction and hope on her face, Shin stared at her. With her messy hair, dirty clothes, dorky glasses, and sweat on her forehead, the only thought in his mind was that he had never seen anyone look so beautiful.

The next day was the sports competition, and when she entered the classroom, she saw all 26 students dressed and ready, but no Yuki. Her face fell, but as she walked to the front, Kuma and the others from the basketball team stepped forward.

“Yankumi,” Kuma said with a smile. “We’ll do our best.”

She smiled a bit at that, and just so she wouldn’t look so depressed, Shin moved from his unusual position near the front to tell her, “If Yuki doesn’t show, I can disguise myself and play in his place.” He made a point of staring at the wall when he said this, so that his mind wouldn’t give him anymore weird thoughts, but he had to look at her briefly to see if she was cheered up. As soon as he saw she was, he went back to his seat and pretended that he didn’t care.

Some of her energy returned, and she shouted for them all to gather around. Shin just happened to find himself next to her in the circle by pure coincidence. They all put their hands in the middle and joined in with her “Fight-oh – Oh!”

Shin headed off with the soccer team while the others went to go cheer for the baseball game. He did his best, but at the first ruling against them, (for kicking one of their opponents in order to get the ball, and then kicking the ref for being in the way) 3-D mobbed the referee, which got them disqualified as soon as the ref could be heard over the shouting. They waited in shame in the classroom for everyone to come back, and when Yankumi came in, Shin pretended a great interest in the material of his soccer cleats.

“Are you guys done with your match already?” When no one answered, she asked him. “Sawada?”

He finally looked up. “Lost on a foul.” He explained as briefly as possible.

“I was aiming for the ball, but kicked the ref instead by mistake. Sorry, sorry!” One of his teammates elaborated apologetically.

He then heard that the baseball game ended disastrously when Oishi, the batter, got hit by the ball and instead of taking a base, decided to take out the pitcher, which resulted in all of 3-C running away from all of 3-D on the field. Table tennis also ended with violent, table-flipping results.

All that was left was basketball, which they were likely to get disqualified from before they even played for lack of members. Nevertheless, they all assembled in the gym and waited for the game to start. Shin was irritated to notice that Mr. Tall Detective-san and his shorter partner had showed up as well. He tried to ignore them, and instead watched the door for any sign of Yuki as the clock ticked down from two minutes, to one minute, thirty seconds, ten seconds, and time. But just before Head Teacher was about to blow his whistle, the doors opened noisily. As everyone looked to see who it was, Shin nearly cheered when he saw Yuki slowly enter.

There was a moment, when he first saw Abe, that Shin thought Yuki was going to run. But he took a deep breath, and walked toward his team. He had a few marks to evidence his time in Yankumi’s crash course for being brave, but he got in line and waited for the game to start. As the whistle blew, Shin immediately saw Abe and his bully-boy head for Yuki and step on his foot while whispering something sinister in his ear. But to his credit, Yuki ignored them, and got in position.

Shin watched the game and as he saw Yuki getting punched, kneed, shoved, tripped, and elbowed, wanted to shout “Ref, are you blind!?” before remembering that Head Teacher was the referee, and either he was partly blind or was purposefully ignoring the obvious fouls out on the court. The score kept climbing in 3-C’s favor, until Abe tripped Yuki and he hit the floor. Everyone noticed as he stayed down, and Shin could see Yankumi holding her breath as she silently willed Yuki to get up. He could see Yuki remembering all the memories of bullying this game was bringing back. And then, he saw Minami offer Yuki his hand.

“Here.” He said, hoping Yuki could hear everything else he was saying. _I’m sorry. It was wrong to hurt you. Forgive me. I’ve changed._

Yuki took a breath, looked at Minami and said softly, “I’m alright.” _I know. It’s alright. I’ve changed too._

And slowly, surely, with determination, Yuki stood up on his own. For himself.

The entire tone of the game changed at that point. Yuki didn’t let Abe shove him anymore. He started passing to Minami and Kuma. The boys’ confidence grew, and the score crept up until it was tied, 35 to 35. As the seconds counted down, Yuki stole the ball from Abe, then ran down the court and dunked it. The whistle blew, and Head Teacher shouted, “Game set!”

As both classes turned to check the score, they saw the scorekeeper stand up, and change the numbers to 35 and 37, declaring 3-D the winner. Cheers erupted, and the guys who had collapsed on the floor as soon as the whistle sounded leapt up with new-found energy. 3-D rushed the court, yelling and waving flags all the way. Yankumi headed straight for Yuki, and gave him a playful shove, then ruffled his hair with both hands over and over again, trying to express how proud she was without crying. Shin hadn’t been this excited about a game for as long as he could remember, and he joined the crowd, shouting congratulations to all the guys.

When Yankumi finally released Yuki, Kuma and Minami came up to him with serious faces. Yuki had a small moment of panic until Minami spoke.

“I’m sorry,” he said, bowing his head.

Kuma joined him, adding, “It was terrible of me.”

“Forget it,” Yuki said in a firm tone. “It’s in the past.” And with a broad grin, he held out his hand. Shin watched as Minami and Kuma shook Yuki’s hands, and felt a deep sense of pride. They had apologized on their own, and Yuki had forgiven them. He shook his head slightly as he saw Yankumi’s hard work pay off with all three boys.

After the game had finished, there was an impromptu victory party in the 3-D classroom. As Minami slung his arm over Yuki’s shoulders, Kuma asked him if he was coming back to school now.

Yuki thought for a minute, then said, “Well, yes.” Massive cheers broke out. “And no.” A chorus of confusion swept the room. “Actually,” he said, looking at his new friends with a wide smile, “I should go tell Yamaguchi-sensei first.”

As he headed for the door, Shin spoke up.

“Call her Yankumi.” Yuki turned to him in confusion.

“It’s our nickname for her,” Noda explained.

“And you’re one of us now.” Uchi added, nodding.

Yuki smiled at them, then headed out. 3-D waited about thirty seconds before following him.

The door to the teachers’ offices was closed, but they all tried to put their ears to the door so they could hear what was going on.

They all could hear Yankumi’s voice, probably responding to the Vice Principal. “Now wait just a minute!”

“Ummm,” that was Ando-sensei’s voice. “Yuki says he wants to restart from the 2nd year.”

_So that’s what he meant by yes and no._

“Is this true, Yuki?” Yankumi’s voice asked.

“Yes.”

Shin heard a voice that he thought was the nurse’s. “In that case, there’s no need to withdraw, is there?”

“That’s ok then, right Head Teacher?” Yankumi said, and Shin could hear her smile.

“Well, in that case, it can’t be helped.” The Vice Principal muttered loudly.

“I’ll be rooting for you!” Her voice echoed through the wall.

“Thank you,” Shin heard Yuki pause. “Yankumi.”

Just then, the door gave way and the whole class burst through. Shin had just enough time to see Yankumi smile with joy at the use of her nickname before they were all smashed against the low barrier. Kuma and Minami gave Yuki a thumbs up, which he returned, while the Head Teacher was shouting nonsense in the background.

“All right, guys. You only won one game, but this is a special treat.” Yankumi told them with a beaming grin.

“Eh?” The class asked, confused as to what she was talking about.

“I’ll give you a kiss on the cheek.” She declared proudly.

Shin made a face at the mere mention of a kiss from Yankumi, but before he had decided whether to accept it or not, the momentum of a dozen guys in front of him shoved him out the door at a run. They could all hear her shouting as they ran.

“Hey wait! Hold it! I said a kiss! A kissssss!!!”

As the class laughed and kept up their pace, Shin couldn’t help having another strange thought.

_Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad_.

He shook his head to clear the crazy thoughts from it. If he didn’t know himself better, he’d start to think he _liked_ Yankumi. And as he said before, having feelings for her was utterly ridiculous.

Right?


	7. Shin's Secret and Sister!

**CHAPTER SEVEN!!**

**It’s almost like I’m making progress or something! Sorry this took so long, but it’s a Shin-heavy episode, and thus, super-long.**

**Notes!**

-          **‘Brother’ in Japanese is Onii (or Nii) + chan/san/sama, (in ascending formality). ‘-chan’ is basically cute baby talk, ‘-san’ is more formal and polite, and ‘-sama’ is ridiculously formal, as if you’re addressing royalty or something. Hence why the boys tease Shin by calling him ‘Shin-chan’ and ‘Onii-chan’, and he responds that they can only call him ‘Onii-sama’.**

* * *

 

Sawada Shin missed being a kid. Kids were allowed to pick something ridiculous, like a fireman or an astronaut to be when they grew up. The future was exciting, when you could be or do anything you wanted.

Real life sucks.

It sucked less now that there was an interesting teacher at school, who actually listened to her students and cared about them. It had even been almost fun lately. But when Yankumi announced that Parent Teacher Conferences were coming up next week, it served as an unpleasant reminder of what his life was really like, since there was no chance in hell his parents would actually come.

His father hated him. His mother was disappointed in him. His sister… well, Natsumi was the only good thing in the Sawada home, as far as he was concerned. And he hadn’t seen her in months, due to the fact that his father had resolutely forbidden all contact with the ‘unwanted son’. He rarely saw her, but spoke to her occasionally, usually when something had happened that she couldn’t discuss with their parents. Dad had yelled at her for getting a low grade. Mom had told her to choose new friends. They said she needed to study more if she was ever to succeed in life.

As Yankumi gave them packets to take home, he saw that the front page asked that the family also discuss the student’s future, and consider what schools they might apply to at the end of the school year, or what careers they might pursue. He stared at it for a moment before throwing it in the trash. His parents wouldn’t come anyway, so there was no need to tell them. His future was… well, it was different things to different people. His father would say he had no future. The teachers at his first school exclaimed his success was assured since he was so smart – why, he could get into any school he wanted! His current Vice Principal would mutter that he had the grades to get into the top schools, but the record to keep him out. Yankumi – well, if he asked her about his future, she’d be sure to say something ridiculous like, “Follow your dreams, and if you head into the shining sun, your future is sure to be bright!”

And to him… Shin sighed. He had no idea what his future held. What to do. What to want, even. He could go to school, but where? His permanent record stated he assaulted a teacher. His transcript declared he graduated from a bottom-ranked school. He could get a job, but he had no clue what he wanted to do, or where he wanted to work. He could travel, but he didn’t have the money.

 _Stupid future with its stupid choices_ , he thought to himself, feeling mixed anger and depression. He looked up as Yankumi joined them, hopping into their little group like she belonged there. The other guys had been complaining nonstop about how embarrassing their parents were at the conferences, so when Yankumi asked why they hadn’t gone home with their moms, all four guys were immediately offended.

“Hey, stupid. Why do we have to go home with our parents?” Kuma answered in a mocking tone. Minami was interrupted from adding something like “What are we, five?” when Noda suddenly stared at the school entrance and shouted in surprise.

“Oh! That’s her again!” He yelled, pointing ecstatically. Shin had heard them talking about a really cute girl who had been standing near the gate this morning, followed by an argument about who she had liked more, despite the fact that she apparently hadn’t said anything. Looking in the direction Noda was pointing, Shin saw who it was and stopped in surprise.

 _Natsumi? What was she doing here?_ He then sent a glare at all the 3-D guys who were crowded around her, smiling creepily and asking her personal questions. Before he could decide who to kill first, Natsumi looked up and spotted him. The size of her smile told Shin that she had missed him, and that something was troubling her.

As she ran towards them, all of his friends knelt on the ground with their arms wide open, waiting to catch her. Yankumi copied them, probably with no idea what they were doing. He barely had time to think a brief _Baka_ at her before Natsumi was in front of him.

“I finally found you!” She declared, “I was about to give up.”

“Eh?” Said his audience, giving them disbelieving looks. Shin ignored them.

“Why are you here?” He asked, happy but confused.

“What’s going on?” Asked Uchi, still unsure of what was happening.

“Is she Sawada’s girlfriend then?” Shouted Yankumi, skidding to the front of the group. _Baka_ , he thought again. _Always jumping to the wrong conclusion._

This statement encouraged the rest of the guys to make similar conjectures, and Shin knew he was in for it. As girl-crazy as they were, they wouldn’t forgive him if they thought he was dating someone without telling them.

He avoided Natsumi’s eyes as they started to yell at him, wishing that his friends weren’t such morons.

“Unreal!” shouted Kuma with a gaping mouth.

“You dirty bum! I thought you weren’t interested in girls!” Of course Minami would say that in front of his sister. And Yankumi. But he was mostly concerned about what his sister thought. It didn’t matter what Yankumi thought. Right?

Noda was also outraged. “Why were you keeping her secret?” He demanded as Yankumi nodded along, looking as put out as the rest of them.

“Such a pretty girl too!” Howled Uchi from the back.

Shin stared at a nearby tree as he sighed to himself. _Why am I friends with any of these idiots?_ He wondered, and not for the first time.

Natsumi decided to clear up the confusion by introducing herself. She bowed, then told them with a smile, “Hi! I’m Sawada Natsumi.”

Everyone’s face froze in the most ridiculous expressions Shin had ever seen.

“Sawada?” Repeated Minami.

Noda leaned forward, slowly putting the pieces together. “That means…”

Shin walked up to stand beside Natsumi. “Sorry to disappoint.” He started, destroying everyone’s delusions. “But she’s my little sister.”

He heard the sound of bowling pins hitting the ground as the group of 3-D students behind him fell over in surprise.

“ _Sister!?_ ” Everyone else shouted in shock.

As soon as they recovered from their astonishment, everyone had swarmed Natsumi, asking her about herself, about Shin, about her childhood, and about Shin’s childhood. Before he could make sure she didn’t answer any of these questions (especially the last one), the guys had invited her to come hang out with them. They suggested playing pool, going to an arcade, doing karaoke, and eating at a restaurant, but when asked what she liked to do, Natsumi softly mentioned that she liked bowling. Without further ado, Shin and Natsumi were dragged off to the nearest bowling alley.

Each of the boys did their best to show off their bowling skills, with differing success. After Uchi got a strike, and turned to make sure Natsumi was watching, Minami (who had instantly claimed the seat next to her) began to tease Shin.

“Shin, you haven’t been very nice by not telling us about your pretty sister.” He said, smiling at Natsumi all the while. Before Shin could respond, someone else chimed in.

“He probably figured that introducing her to you guys would be a bad idea.” Yankumi commented as she prepared to send her ball down the lane.

Just before she threw, Shin asked, “Why are _you_ here?”, distracting her enough so that her ball immediately settled in the gutter.

She paused a moment as she tried to justify her presence. “I’m here as a chaperone,” she decided. “I don’t want any funny business to develop.”

Uchi, who probably wished some funny business would develop, shouted, “Which era were you born in?”

Natsumi and Shin got up to take their turn, and as they selected their balls, Yankumi asked, “Natsumi-chan, why did you come see him? I mean, you can see him at home, right?”

She stared at Yankumi, then her eyes flicked to Shin, clearly saying, _You haven’t told them?_

Shin met her glance, then looked away. There was no particular reason he hadn’t, but he just didn’t see the need. As he walked up to the lane, he heard Natsumi answer, “I can’t see him at home.”

She joined him, and they both assumed the correct stance.

“I live alone,” was all Shin offered as way of explanation to his gawking friends. “It’s part of my training to become an adult.”

He and Natsumi aimed, then released their balls with perfect form. Bowling had been one of the few options for entertainment considered suitable for a senator’s children by his father, so he and Natsumi spent hours bowling together when they were younger. Shin grinned a bit as they both got strikes. It was nice to see he wasn’t too rusty.

As he returned, his friends immediately mobbed him with questions and comments.

“What’s that?” Minami asked.

“You should have told us!” Noda complained.

“I hadn’t heard that,” said Yankumi in a mixture of confusion and indignation, as if she was personally offended she hadn’t known about Shin’s living situation.

“I didn’t tell you.” Shin responded, giving her a look. It’s not like he was required to tell her all about his life.

“Well, let’s go visit his place next time!” Kuma suggested happily, and everyone slapped his head in rebuke.

“That’s not what we’re talking about!” They told him with stern faces.

 “That’s why I wanted to see him.” Natsumi piped up with a smile, then walked over to her seat. Shin watched her as she went. She only came to see him when she was troubled, but he couldn’t tell if she was unhappy or troubled or stressed _. She’s gotten good at hiding her emotions_ , Shin thought, then realized he had too. _Another side effect of the Sawada family._

“Ooo…she loves her brother!” teased his classmates, edging nearer to his sister.

“That’s nice, isn’t it? Getting along well is beautiful,” commented Yankumi, in her own imaginary world, as usual.

“Natsumi-chan, do you have a boyfriend?” Minami (of _course_ it was Minami) asked slyly.

“No, I don’t.” She answered, getting delighted looks from all the surrounding boys.

“Whoever gets the best score this round will get to ask her out on a date. How about that?” Minami decided, and Noda and Uchi agreed loudly.

This had gone far enough. A bit of teasing was fine, but he did not want his sister to be the prize for a round of bowling. Especially since Minami was fairly good, and Shin did not like the idea of Natsumi dating Minami. Way too much trouble all around.

“Hey guys, don’t decide amongst yourselves,” he said in a firm tone. This only moved everyone’s attention from teasing Natsumi nicely to teasing him full-on.

“Sawada, are you worried as a big brother?” Yankumi asked, smiling.

Shin was not going to take any teasing from her. “Shut up. It’s your turn.” He informed her shortly.

“Wait a minute,” Uchi realized something. “If one of us marries her, he’ll have to call Shin ‘Onii-chan’! Right, Shin?”

Everyone looked at him, excited about this new revelation. “Stop kidding around. It’s not ‘Onii-chan, it’s ‘Onii- _sama_ ’.” Shin told them firmly. He didn’t want anybody getting any ideas.

Minami grinned and said, “That doesn’t matter, _Onii-sama_!” Then he decided to tackle Shin with the help of Uchi and Noda.

“Alright, alright!” Shin gasped, trying not to reveal how very ticklish he was.

“Can I have her?” Noda asked, and when he refused, they attacked him some more.

 _They’re all frickin’ idiots_ , Shin thought as he tried not to cry from laughing so hard. The barrage finally ended, and the boys went back to arguing amongst themselves. Shin went to buy some soda while Yankumi tried to teach everyone the proper way to bowl.

Natsumi called out after him, “Get me some too! I like –”

“Orange soda.” He finished for her. “I remember.”

She gave him a smile that faded too quickly for his liking. Something was going on.

He watched everyone practice their throws, as he handed Natsumi her drink. She murmured a quiet “Thanks” in return.

“Something happen?” He asked, keeping his eyes on the far side of the room.

“Why?” She asked softly, confirming his suspicions.

Shin rolled his head to look at her. “You came because something happened, right?”

She looked up in surprise, unused to people reading her so well. Being fairly inscrutable himself, Shin knew what it was like to hide his thoughts all the time. Natsumi covered her surprise well, then looked away.

“No, nothing really. I just wanted to see you.”

Shin looked away skeptically. She wouldn’t have come all this way and risk their parents finding out that she still talked to him, just to see him. But he wouldn’t push. She’d tell him if she wanted to.

Or maybe nothing big happened. Maybe she just missed being with people who weren’t judging her all the time. _Yeah_ , he decided. _It’s probably nothing more than that._

“You seem very happy with your friends.” She commented, grinning.

Shin couldn’t help a smile. “Not really,” he muttered, trying to play down how happy he’d been of late. Or why.

“I think you’ve changed.” Natsumi said with a wistful sigh. “Leaving home was a good thing for you.”

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Leaving home may have been good for him, but it wouldn’t have been for her. Living alone was hard, lonely, and could easily lead into getting into trouble. He hoped she wasn’t thinking of it.

“How are Mom and Dad?” He asked softly. If she was thinking of leaving, it would be because of them.

Natsumi took a breath. “They haven’t changed.” That told Shin everything and nothing. He knew how his parents were, but he still didn’t know what Natsumi was thinking. He drank his soda and slouched in his seat, contemplating.

Soon, they were done with bowling, and after all the boys (and Yankumi) bid an enthusiastic farewell to Natsumi, Shin walked her part of the way home. They walked in comfortable silence most of the way, then stopped a few blocks from the Sawada residence.

“Today was fun!” She said to him. “It was nice to meet your friends – although they’re a little weird. Your teacher was pretty interesting too.” Natsumi gave him a sideways glance as she mentioned Yankumi, which Shin carefully avoided.

“Yeah, well. They’re all idiots. Especially Yankumi.” Shin muttered, looking at the ground as he thought maybe Yankumi wasn’t exactly an idiot. She was just mostly clueless and overenthusiastic. About everything.

For some reason, his response made Natsumi grin mysteriously, then she gave him a hug and started walking.

“Hey,” He called after her. She stopped and turned. “Call me next time. Or anytime.” He was trying to let her know that she could talk to him. That he could help.

She smiled, then nodded. “I will.”

He watched until she disappeared around a corner, then started his journey home. He wondered if his moving out had helped Natsumi at all. He had assumed that since he was the source of tension in their home, if he left, everything would be…well, quieter, anyway. That his dad would be happy that the trouble-maker was gone and that Natsumi, the good child, had stayed.

Shin reached his apartment and stuck his last frozen stir-fry in the microwave. He took a moment to look around. Everything was modern, sparse, minimalistic. It suited Shin just fine, but Natsumi wouldn’t make it on her own. She cared too much. She would be thinking about how she had hurt her parents, how much they had hurt her, and wouldn’t be able to take it. Shin could take it. He could pretend like he didn’t care, like he didn’t mind going home to an empty house. Like he didn’t care if he didn’t have a parent to come to the parent-teacher conference. He had gotten really good at pretending he didn’t care.

He was used to people not caring about him. He was used to being alone. If it helped Natsumi at all, he could take it. With that resolute thought, he fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next day was unremarkable, except for the amount of complaining from his friends about how embarrassing their parents were, and how ridiculous their rules were, and envious they were of Shin for living alone. He eventually retreated to the roof just to escape it all.

After getting home and changing out of his uniform, he realized he was all out of food. He headed to the nearest convenience store and grabbed some instant noodles. As he was walking back, he saw Yankumi muttering to herself and rotating her shoulder with a pained expression. Shin waited for her to see him, but she was as clueless as always. She started rolling her neck and he could hear her say something about getting a massage at home.

“Forty-year-old shoulder, huh?” He asked as he walked past.

She agreed loudly without realizing who it was until she turned to look. “Wait, Sawada, what are you doing here?” She asked in surprise.

 _Do you always respond to random strangers on the street_? He asked her silently, then held up his plastic bag as way of explanation. “Dinner.”

“Ah, pathetic! A young man like yourself eating an instant meal from a store?” She declared in a righteous tone. “Our country is going downhill unless parents give their kids more thoughtfully prepared meals.”

“Aren’t you being silly?” He asked, thinking that she had the shoulder of a forty-year old and the speech of an eighty-year old grandma.

“Shhh!” She shushed him, and glanced around furtively. Grabbing his arm, she ran in the opposite direction. “Alright, come with me!” She said in a low tone, for all the world like she had included him on a secret mission.

Before he knew it, he was once again in front of the local yakuza headquarters. He barely had time to take off his shoes before she had dragged him into the house and shouted, “We have a guest for dinner!”

Heads poked out of every room, and everyone came out with loud greetings for Young Master Shin, who kept bowing and saying that just Shin was fine. They sat him down at the head of the table, despite his protests, and kept asking if he would like some sake. Everyone who asked got a head slap from Yankumi, who would angrily tell them that he was still a minor.

Soon all seven were seated and partaking of a hot pot, which rather confused Shin.

“I thought this was a winter-only hot pot meal,” he commented as Tetsu gave him another serving.

“Ojou really likes hot pot.” Minoru informed him with a full mouth.

Yankumi smiled and added, “Even in summer, we have a hot pot meal weekly. Right, everyone?”

Everyone agreed, and Shin got the feeling that Yankumi was the only one that loved hot pot, and the rest had simply been humoring her for years. Kuroda-san smiled and told him, “Don’t hold back. Eat as much as you want.” He also tried to give him alcohol, then remembered his age and switched over to juice.

“Thanks,” Shin said with a smile, amused by how hard everyone was trying to accommodate him.

There was one tense moment where Tetsu and Minoru crossed chopsticks for the same piece of meat, but the challenging atmosphere quickly disappeared when Wakatsu barked at them for arguing in front of a guest. They both bowed their heads and said _‘Hai’_ so submissively that Shin got the feeling that it was less of a fight and more of a way of life for them. He grinned at the familiarity of it all.

Looking a bit different than Shin was used to, Yankumi had changed and now wore her hair in a half ponytail and had a comfy-looking sweatshirt on. She looked so relaxed here. He had only seen her in her glasses/pigtails/tracksuit combo, and her no glasses/hair down/tracksuit battle face. She wasn’t quite the mild-mannered Yamaguchi-sensei or yakuza warrior Yankumi here. She was Kumiko. She was…herself.

She turned to look at him and asked him around a full mouth, “Sawada, why are you living alone when you have a family to live with?”

He stuffed some noodles in his mouth so he’d have time to think of a way to answer that.

“Doesn’t that inconvenience you in a lot of ways?”

Ah, he could answer that question easily. “Well, I’ve always wanted to do it. I can do things freely this way.”

“Hmmm…don’t you get lonely sometimes?” Yankumi probed gently.

“Not at all.” He lied. “I’m very comfortable.” And it was easy to lie, to say that with a smile, because right now, right here, he didn’t feel lonely. He felt comfortable, at ease. And he was soaking it all up to savor later.

“Is that so?” She murmured thoughtfully.

Shin pretended not to see Kuroda-san look at him with a bit of concern. _He doesn’t need to worry about me. I’m fine. I’m used to living this way. And when I find a bit of unexpected happiness, I enjoy it all the more._

He had been saying that to himself for so long, he mostly believed it now. Before he knew it, dinner was over, it was getting late, and it was time for him to head out.

He put on his jacket and his shoes and turned to Yankumi and her grandfather. “Thank you very much,” he bowed with a smile.

“Come back any time.” Kuroda-san replied happily.

“Don’t be tardy tomorrow morning.” Yankumi reminded him.

Kuroda-san laughed and Shin chuckled a little at Yankumi’s attempt to be his teacher.

“Good night,” he told them both, and set out.

“Good night!” They responded, smiling fondly as he started to walk away.

Before he got to the gate, he could hear Yankumi talking to her grandfather.

“Don’t his parents worry, I wonder?”

And the warmth and light of the Oedo house faded, his smile faded as well. He reached his apartment, turned on the lights, and headed to his daybed. Sitting down, he took a moment to compare his apartment from the house he had just left. All the colors here were black or white, not the warm wood tones or bright cream of their traditional sliding doors. It was quiet, not loud with the sounds of cheerful banter or friendly slaps to Minoru’s head. Shin felt a pang of jealousy. He wanted a place where the only fights were about a piece of meat in a hot pot. Where people were genuinely concerned about him, not their own reputation.

He sighed, then resolutely put those thoughts out of his head. He had chosen this life, for himself and for Natsumi. There was no room for regrets.

Shin awoke the next morning from a dreamless sleep. Today was the last day of parent-teacher conferences, and since he had no parents’ schedule to work around, he had opted to take the last slot of the day. He came in through the back door of the classroom just as the front door closed and saw Yankumi race to the box of treats on the table.

Completely lost in her sweet, creamy vision, Shin decided it was time for a bit of payback for all those times she had snuck up on them. He walked slowly and quietly down the stairs and slid into the seat across from her. Being as clueless as she was, she was busy talking to herself and didn’t see him.

“Sawada is the only one left…” Yankumi thought aloud, then dived into the box. “It’s a bit early, but I’ll consider it a reward for my work.” She declared happily, then opened her mouth to eat the giant cream puff whole.

Before she could stuff it in her mouth, she finally realized he was there.

“Sawada!” She shrieked in surprise, then looked at the cream puff guiltily, and hid it behind her back.

 _Hiding it doesn’t work if I’ve already seen it_ , He criticized her silently.

Still trying to cover up her misstep, she spoke very quickly and formally. “It’s unusual for a frequently tardy guy like yourself to be on time. It’s commendable!” She ended with a nervous smile.

Had this been a normal situation, he might have given her a _‘baka’_ or tried to hide a grin, but he was waiting for her to notice the obvious and ask the stupid questions that were on the packet. After a few more seconds, she finally caught on.

“Uh, where’s your parent?”

He rolled his head to the side. “Not coming.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Eh?”

“I said they’re not coming.” He spoke a bit louder and faster, trying to tell her to drop the issue.

Being Yankumi, she didn’t. “Did you not tell your parents?”

Annoyed that she guessed that right away, he took a breath and told her, “My career path after graduation is presently undecided. That’s it. End of discussion.” Before she could dig any deeper, he quickly got up and headed for the door.

“Oi, Sawada!” She yelled after him, but he just kept walking. He didn’t need her of all people asking about his family situation. Especially because he felt that if she asked, he might actually tell her.

Later that night, while he was deep in a book, he heard a knock at his door. He looked up in confusion. None of his friends knew where he lived, and he never had guests over, so maybe it was a neighbor or the landlord.

“Yes?” He asked the door.

“It. Is. Meee!!!” The door answered in a very cheerful, annoying, and familiar voice. Shin sighed and rolled his eyes. How in the world did she figure out where he lived? With a muttered curse, he remembered that his address was on file with the school. _Nosy busybody_ , he thought as he stuck a bookmark between the pages and went to open the door.

Yankumi looked at him with a large grin. “Here I am!” She declared, as if they had been playing Hide and Seek or something equally juvenile.

“How stupid,” he responded, looking at the ceiling.

“Be happy.” She told him, holding up a plastic bag. “I’ll make you a meal.”

He stared at her in disbelief. “Can you do that?” From what he knew about her, he seriously doubted she could cook worth beans.

“Don’t be silly! In preparation for married life, I wouldn’t neglect culinary training.” Shin narrowed his eyes more. That wasn’t exactly a ‘yes’, and what married life was she preparing for, anyway? Things with Mr. Detective-san were moving at a snail’s pace, if at all. Not that he noticed. Or cared.

So she pushed past him to the kitchen area, and Shin went back to his book. As he responded with the location of different items she needed, he kept his eyes on the page so that she wouldn’t notice that he wasn’t nearly annoyed as he was pretending to be. Having Yankumi bustling about his kitchen, in his apartment, with him there, felt sort of…

He pushed the thought away before it could be completed. This was just a weird, one-time thing that Yankumi was doing because he was now her new cause. Not for any other reason.

And then, when she shouted, “It’s done!” and proudly placed the ceramic bowls on the table, Shin sighed and seated himself on the floor. Then he actually saw what was in the dishes. He stared at the smoking remains of the macaroni and cheese for a moment before he heard Yankumi murmur an apology.

“What is this?” He tried to ask gently. With Yankumi, he wasn’t sure if she was going to cry from disappointment or beat him to a pulp with rage if he somehow offended her.

“Macaroni au gratin…charbroiled.” She spoke the last word as softly as possible.

“It’s not charbroiled, it’s charred!” He corrected her loudly. He didn’t care if she was going to cry or hit him, he was not going to risk his health by eating ashes.

Then, as if she had actually considered her ‘culinary preparation’ not going too well, Yankumi grabbed some instant noodles and suggested they go with that.

Shin got up and turned on the stove for the kettle. As he was wrestling with the plastic packaging of the noodles, Yankumi opted to wander around his place, making him feel…weird, again.

“Your apartment is pretty neat…or should I say, there’s not much in it.” She commented.

Uncertain how to react to that, Shin decided to get to the heart of the matter.

“Why are you here?” He asked. She wouldn’t have come to make him a burned meal just for the fun of it.

“I had a conversation with your mom.” Shin froze. How much did she know?

“When you got expelled for hitting a teacher, I heard you fought with your dad and left home.” She continued, answering his silent question. She also walked closer and leaned against the counter as he finished opening the second noodles, although he wasn’t quite sure why he was so very aware of her presence.

“My family is irrelevant.” He told her, not wanting to talk about it further.

“Well, if you say so…” She said as he walked back towards the table.

“Don’t meddle in things that don’t concern you.” Shin warned her, but he knew it was pointless. Meddling in things that didn’t concern her was her specialty. She had worked through his friends’ issues, and now it was his turn. She followed him over to the table and dove into the situation with her usual naïve nosiness.

“Sawada, how ‘bout sitting down and talking with him?” Her voice was bright and cheery, like this was the best idea she had ever thought of, and of course it would work. “Maybe it’s not too late to make up and return home.”

He investigated her plastic grocery bag and found some meat that was probably originally intended to burn with the macaroni. He looked at it a moment before he answered.

“I have no intention of returning home.” _Ever._ Swallowing, he finally gave in to the little voice that said he could tell her, talk to her, that it might do him some good. “My dad only cares about how he looks to outsiders. So garbage like me doesn’t qualify to be his family.” He smiled bitterly as he quoted some of the last words his father ever said to him.

Despite telling himself that he didn’t care, he waited anxiously for Yankumi’s reaction.

“I see,” she said softly. “Things don’t always go well, do they?” She sounded thoughtful, as though she was actually considering his side of things.

Tired of staring at the packaged meat, Shin turned to look at her. She met his eyes briefly, then smiled and moved to the other side of the table.

“Well, in my case, my parents died over ten years ago.” He could hear her trying to sound like her usual happy-go-lucky self and not quite succeeding. “So, I don’t really understand your situation. Your parents are alive. It’s a shame that you’re on bad terms and not living with them.” She spoke as though she were simply voicing her thought process, rather than trying to give him advice. The kettle sang like a semi-truck, and Shin got up to pour the hot water into the noodles.

“In other words, you’ve come to tell me to return home?” He asked, knowing that that’s what adults did. They told him what to do and how to do it.

“Hmm. Well, that was my original intention, but…”

And that was why Yankumi wasn’t a normal adult. She had actually listened to him, had changed her mind, her intentions. She hadn’t come here to make him do things the way she thought they should be done.

Shin’s phone rang, interrupting both of their thoughts. The caller ID told him it was Natsumi.

“What’s up?” He answered, glad she had called him, yet wondering why.

“Onii-chan, I…I feel suffocated at home.” His eyes widened as Natsumi quoted his words during the fight with his father. “I wanna get away.”

He took a breath to calm himself. He should find her and talk to her before she did anything stupid. “Hey, where are you now?” Shin tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. But then the line went dead.

“Hello? Natsumi!” He shouted into the phone in a slightly panicked voice. Without a word of explanation, he grabbed his jacket and ran out the door, Yankumi following seconds later. She didn’t say anything until they reached his parents’ place, for which Shin was grateful. There were enough chaotic thoughts running through his mind without Yankumi asking questions he didn’t know the answer to.

“Why is there a cop in front of your house?” She inquired when they finally stopped running.

“We haven’t told the school, but my dad is a senator.” Trying to deal with all the memories that came flooding back at the sight of his old home, Shin ignored the exclamations of surprise from behind him.

The last time he saw this place was the day he left, back in his first year of high school.

_He was sitting in the principal’s office, staring resolutely at the floor, when he heard the door open._

_“I’m here for Sawada Shin.” Came a voice that was not his father’s._

_The Principal looked confused. “Where’s his father?”_

_“I am Mr. Sawada’s secretary. He’s made all the arrangements for me to pick Sawada-kun up.”_

_Shin grit his teeth. His father didn’t even care enough to come get him himself. Probably didn’t want news of his troublesome son getting out._

_“Didn’t even want Mom to pick me up, did he?” Muttered Shin, just loud enough for the secretary, a Mr. Kimura, to give him a look before ignoring him._

_When he got home, his father was in a righteous fury. “Striking a teacher? What were you thinking? Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is for us? Punching a teacher! At such a good school! And now you’re expelled. I have no idea where we’ll find another school for you, or who will even take you! This goes on your permanent record, you know. Good God, if the press gets hold of this…”_

_“He was harassing one of my friends. He knew Riku didn’t do it but-”_

_“So you attacked him for one of your hooligan friends? Is that who you’re going to blame this on?” His father sighed wearily. “All you do is cause trouble for me, Shin. First you dye your hair with those ridiculous streaks, then you hang out with those trouble-makers, and then you top it all off with hitting a teacher! I know it’s hard for kids like you, but I thought at least you could graduate high school without some sort of scandal. Think of what kind of reputation you’re giving me! You’re not even worthy of the Sawada name.”_

_“Fine! I don’t want it! I hate it here! I feel suffocated, and trapped because all you care about is your damn reputation and your damn name that you don’t even care about your own damn kids! To hell with you!”_

_“Don’t you use that language in this house! And don’t you walk away from me when I’m talking to you!”_

_But Shin had run upstairs, slammed his door, and was throwing his money and clothes angrily into a duffel bag. He had just zipped up the bag his door cracked open hesitantly._

_“Onii-chan?” Natsumi asked, then stopped when she saw him picking up the bag and throwing it over his shoulder. She bit her lip and gave him a worried look._

_“I can’t stay here, Natsumi. I can’t live like this anymore.” Shin’s eyes softened as he saw her fighting tears, and he walked forward to give her a hug. “It’ll be alright. If things get rough, you just remind them that I’m the bad kid, okay?”  She nodded slowly, which gave him the courage to walk back downstairs._

_His father was pacing in the living room, but when he saw Shin, he stormed over to the front of the stairs._

_“I’m leaving.” Shin told him as calmly as he could manage._

_“Fine! Worthless garbage like you doesn’t even belong in this family! Your entire purpose of living is to defy me and disgrace this family, so go on! Get out!”_

_Shin bit the inside of his cheek as he resisted the urge to shout back. He took a breath, glared at his father, looked wistfully at his mother, and gazed apologetically at his sister, then turned and walked out._

_He later got an envelope with some money and his welcome to Shirokin letter from one of the guards who patrolled outside his house (a secret gift from his mother, he figured). Since that day, he hadn’t seen or spoken to either of his parents._

The guard recognized him and let them both in. Shin felt a bit of relief as the door opened to reveal his mother. He didn’t think he could handle seeing his father just yet.

“Shin?” She said with a look of shock.

“Mom, is Natsumi here?” He asked quickly, trying to muscle past the awkward fact that he hadn’t seen his mother in two and a half years.

Recovering a bit, his mother’s face turned from shock to worry. “She isn’t. And I got a call from her school today. Natsumi seems to have missed three days of school. But today, she left home normally.”

Steps sounded on the stairs and Shin instinctually looked up. As soon as he saw Shin at the door, Senator Sawada stopped with the familiar look of anger and disappointment that Shin had received every day before he left. And then, as if to pretend he wasn’t there, Shin’s father continued down the stairs into the living room.

He took a moment to prepare himself, then followed his father into the other room.

“You’re living under the same roof…Why haven’t you noticed until now?” He demanded, towering over his seated father.

“You are in no position to tell me that.” His father interrupted, still staring at one of his stupid papers. “Natsumi had never gone against our wishes. For something like this to happen so suddenly… you must’ve influenced her!” Standing up, he finally faced his son, who was literally shaking with anger.

“You caused us a lot of embarrassment and got expelled. It was hard to find a school willing to accept you, but I hear that you’re trouble there, too. What did you say to Natsumi? I’m sure you talked her into it!” It took all of Shin’s self-control not to yell, or scream, or hit his father. “Answer me!” He demanded, and that was the last straw.

He could take his father insulting him, degrading him, but he should know that Shin would do anything to protect Natsumi, that he wouldn’t do anything to push her away, or make stupid decisions.

“I don’t know!” He shouted back, leaning into his father’s face. Because he didn’t know. He didn’t know if he had said something to encourage her to leave, if he had said too much or too little. He hadn’t quite decided what his next move was when Yankumi physically held him back and pushed herself between the two of them.

“Mr. Sawada. Right now looking for Natsumi is the top priority, isn’t it?” She asked, trying to redirect the malevolent energy in the room.

“A stranger like you doesn’t need to tell me that. I already made arrangements.”

Shin turned away, exchanging anger for bitterness. _That_ sounded familiar. “I bet your secretary is running around doing everything for you, right?” He said with a mirthless laugh.

“What?!” The senator had the gall to sound indignant.

“Have you ever once put yourself on the line for the sake of us kids?” Shin couldn’t help his voice growing with rage.

“That’s no way to talk to your parent!” His father responded, totally ignoring the question.

Shin could hear his breath, loud, angry, fast, and he knew if he didn’t want to do something stupid, he needed to get out of there. All of it, the yelling, his father ignoring what he said, his mother hovering helplessly in the background, the feeling of suffocation, it was too familiar, too awful. After being away from it for two years, he had no tolerance for any of it anymore.

He forced himself to turn away and walk out. His walk turned into a run until he got at least three blocks away. He walked quickly, fuming, as everything he hated about his life came back full force. It wasn’t until a good half a mile later that he even heard the soft footsteps behind him. Turning, he saw Yankumi with a concerned look, quietly following him.

The small amount of gratitude and relief he had at Yankumi’s presence calmed him enough that he could form words.

“You get it now, don’t you? They gave up on me a long time ago. I’m used to living alone, it doesn’t bother me. But my little sister is different. She doesn’t have to feel what I’ve felt!”

_I meant to protect her. I was trying to help her. But I messed it up. I always do. I thought things would be better after I left. I thought I’d take all their anger and disappointment with me. But I didn’t. I made it worse._

“I cornered her,” he spoke his thoughts aloud as he finally came to a stop. “I left home and let her carry my parents’ expectations. When she came to talk to me, I should’ve listened to her more carefully.”

Blinking back angry, disappointed tears, he kept castigating himself. _I should have known. I know what they’re like. I used to protect her. And then I abandoned her. Forced everything on her. It’s all my fault. All if it._

“If something bad happens to her,” he tried to stop imagining everything that he had heard happening to young girls in the city at this time of night. “It’d be my fault!” he shouted. He was so angry at his parents, so angry at himself that he could hardly see straight. He suddenly felt Yankumi grab his arms and pull his focus out of his emotions and onto her.

“Get a hold of yourself.” She told him firmly. “Blaming yourself won’t help, right?”

He forced himself to breathe. Yankumi was right. Standing here feeling sorry for himself wasn’t going to help Natsumi. Channeling all his fear and anger into a grim determination, he looked up with fire in his eyes.

“I’ll protect her.” He vowed, then leaped over a gate so Yankumi wouldn’t follow and ran down the street. He had no idea where he was going, but he was sure as hell that he didn’t want her to see him like this.

After half an hour of running, he heard his phone ring. He was about to ignore it when he saw that it wasn’t Yankumi. Why would Matsudaira be calling him?

“What?” he responded bluntly.

“Hey dude, why is your sister going into a casino bar? Does she go to places like that? I mean, I’ve heard some bad things about that place. There was this one guy that told me-”

“Where!?” Shin shouted into the phone.

“Um, on Higashi Street. Dude, is something going-”

Shin hung up and sprinted for Higashi Street. He had heard things about casino bars too. They were illegal. There were hookers there. And drug deals. And guys who would be more than happy to take advantage of a high school girl.

He had never done track at high school, but he was sure he broke several records as he raced towards his sister. He didn’t even give the bouncer time to react as he pushed past the doors and the people inside. Scanning the bar, he narrowed in on two guys leaning towards a girl Natsumi’s height with Natsumi’s hair who was cowering under the unwanted attention.

Strangely calm, Shin grabbed the first guy’s shoulder and threw him to the ground. The girl, who was indeed Natsumi, turned and shouted, “Onii-chan!” in surprise.

He had no time to react as all the guy’s friends wanted their turn to get beat up. The next few minutes turned into a blur as he punched one guy, got pushed into a wall, head-butted someone else, and knocked another guy to the ground. Walking back, he grabbed Natsumi’s hand and tried to get out of there. It was then that the first guy he grabbed tackled him to the ground. There were a few more punches and one knee to his ribs, and he vaguely remembered landing on a roulette table. But he eventually ended up in his least favorite spot, on the ground with people kicking him.

His rattled brain was trying to think of another way to get Natsumi out when he heard someone shout, “Police!” The guys around him gave him a few last kicks, which he felt connect with his already bruised ribs, and scattered.

“Onii-chan!” Natsumi cried, crouching next to him. The only reason he had a tenuous grasp on staying conscious was because his brain kept repeating, _Protect Natsumi. Get her out. Protect Natsumi. Get her out._

“Go, quick.” He coughed, trying to ignore the pain in his stomach.

“But…” She objected with a look of frightened worry.

“Don’t tell anyone that you came here. Understand? Don’t tell no matter what.” Shin was now trying to ignore how much it hurt to breathe. “Leave the rest to me _.” I’ll protect you. I’ll protect you now like I should have done then._

She made a few more objections, but he finally yelled at her to leave and she ran. With his mission accomplished for now, Shin rolled over and allowed himself to pass out. He had no idea how long he lay there until voices from above slowly pulled him awake.

“Sawada-kun?” he heard someone speak his name in a tone of complete surprise. “Shinohara! Come look at this!”

He cracked open his eyes to see two detectives looking at him with concern and regret.

“Sawada-kun, what are you doing here?” Mr. Handsome Detective-san asked worriedly. All Shin could do was blink at him.

Shinohara-san stood up. Biting his lip, he said, “You men, pick him up. We have to take him in with the others.”

“But Kumiko-” Shin heard the shorter one protest.

“We have to, Kashiwagi. It’s our job.” With that, they both left and two other officers grabbed under his arms and pulled him upright. He was vaguely aware of shrieks and shouts from the others in the bar, but he walked in a haze until he got outside. It was pouring rain, and as the cold water hit his face, he thought he heard a soft “Sawada,” from behind him. Then he definitely heard a multitude of voices calling “Shin!” and one lone voice now shouting “Sawada!”

He stopped. Almost against his will, he slowly turned his head toward the sound. There, barely restrained by the yellow police tape, was the entire class of 3-D. And right there, in the middle, was 3-D’s homeroom teacher.

His friends looked confused, worried, but Yankumi’s eyes were clear, piercing. He wasn’t sure what those eyes asked, but as he looked away, all he could think was, _I’m sorry, Yankumi._

They led him to the car, and he saw Shinohara pause and bow regretfully in Yankumi’s direction before sliding into the passenger seat. As the sound of voices grew louder once more, Shin kept his eyes straight ahead. He could take a lot of things, but he was certain that seeing disappointment on Yankumi’s face would kill him. He had ruined her dream, after all. He would doubtless be expelled for this, and her vow of all of them graduating together would be broken. He had let one more person down.

When they reached the station, he saw Shinohara-san speak quietly with the officers there, and Shin was taken to a small holding cell. He could hear lots of shouts and screams from the rooms around him, and it sounded like he was the only one with his own cell.

The next morning, Shinohara brought him into an integration room, and asked questions while Shin studied the floor.

“Sawada-kun, what were you doing in a place like that?”

Shin noticed something that looked like a coffee stain on the floor.

“We know you aren’t a regular. Most of the people we arrested have a record of previous offenses, and they aren’t afraid to rat on each other, but they all say that they’ve never seen you before.”

Huh. The coffee stain almost looked like a weird mouse if he stared at it long enough.

“So, I’d like to just give you a warning and let you go.”

Shin met Shinohara’s gaze for the first time with a wild burst of hope.

“Since you’re still a minor, we need to contact a parent or guardian to come before we can release you.”

He went back to staring at the stain, which now looked like a strange lobster, and tried to suppress a hysterical laugh. He wasn’t under arrest, he hadn’t done anything wrong, but he was going to stay in jail because his parents hated him. So really, this was his father’s dream come true. Shin was in jail for being a disappointing son.

“Sawada, is there someone we can call?”

_You’re not even worthy of the Sawada name!_

Shin shook his head, and kept examining the coffee stain. Shinohara sighed, then nodded to the officers who escorted him back to his cell. When Kashiwagi-san came back a few hours later and walked him back to the same room, Shin was confused. And then, he saw Yankumi.

He immediately dropped his eyes back to the ground, but he had to know. He had to see if she hated him for destroying her dream. For not being the student she wanted him to be. If she was angry, or disappointed. Shin slowly looked up and met her eyes. He saw worry and concern, but no anger. No hate. He released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, and sat down in the chair opposite her.

Now that he knew she didn’t hate him, and that Natsumi was alright, he could take anything. Staring grimly at the wall, he waited for Yankumi to speak.

“I heard that Natsumi-chan made it back safely.” Yankumi ventured softly. “That’s good, isn’t it?”

She paused a moment, then asked, “You rescued her, right?”

He knew that if he was going to protect Natsumi, he had to protect her from everything he could. He saved her from the guys there, but if word got out where she was, her reputation would be ruined. She would be expelled. His parents would hate her too. He would be damned if he let that happen.

“She never went to such a place.” Shin murmured to the wall.

“Then why were you there?” Yankumi sounded confused, and a bit upset. When Shin refused to answer, she pushed back her chair and planted herself in front of him.

“You didn’t want to see her get in trouble, right? If her school finds out that she was there, she’d also be expelled.” Her voice was getting louder and more frantic, and she leaned down to grip his arms. “That’s why you kept silent, right?”

She wanted confirmation that he was a good guy. That he had acted bravely. She had guessed everything that had gone through his mind, and Shin cursed her for being able to see through him. But Yankumi was the only one who thought he was a good guy. As long as he protected Natsumi, he didn’t care what others thought of him.

“Sawada!” She shouted, shaking him.

He couldn’t look at her, but swallowed and whispered, “I beg of you, please keep quiet.” He knew he was asking her to forsake her dream, to not protect him, to renege on her job as his teacher. _Let me be the bad guy, Yankumi. Give up on me. Help me protect her._

Her mouth settled into a firm line, and she slowly stood up with an unreadable expression.

Almost in spite of himself, he couldn’t help but asking, “Yankumi, I got expelled, didn’t I?”

Her regretful silence answered him better than words. “For us all to graduate together…” He quoted, softly, sorrowfully, “seems difficult now.” It was as close to an apology as he could manage at the moment.

Yankumi gazed at him for a moment, as if undecided, then she straightened and marched out without a word. When the door closed, he stared after her. _I’m sorry, Yankumi_ , he thought at the door. _I’m so sorry._

Suddenly, the door opened, and Shinohara-san came in, interrupting Shin’s eyeline. As Shin looked up at him, Shinohara met his gaze, then nodded, as if acknowledging something Shin wasn’t quite aware of. 

“Would you like to stay here? Or go back to the holding cell?” He asked gently.

“Here.” Shin answered as quietly as he could. Shinohara nodded again, then left. He sat for hours with only his own thoughts to keep him company. And they weren’t very cheerful. From the way Yankumi left, he couldn’t tell if she had decided to never speak to him again, to respect his wishes, or to go storm the government and force them to change laws about minority. He breathed a ghost of a chuckle at the last one. However, after the hours of silence, his mind kept replaying a mixture of the fight he had with his father, Natsumi saying “They haven’t changed” and the image of Yankumi’s face through the rain over and over.

Suddenly, he heard the door close. Shinohara was back.

“Sawada-kun,” He said, and moved to sit in the opposite chair. “You can go now.”

Shin looked at him in confusion. Why were they letting him go? “Eh?” was all he could get out.

Shinohara-san’s serious face suddenly lit up with a smile. “Someone’s here to get you.”

More confused than ever, he followed Kashiwagi and Shinohara out. As he stepped into the sun and took a breath of fresh air, he turned and bowed to both men, knowing that they had treated him much better than they had to.

He took a few steps forward, then froze in surprise. His father, Senator Sawada, was there. The father who hated him, saw him as a disappointment, refused to pick him up when he was expelled, and had declared him unworthy of the Sawada name, had come to a police station to release his son.

His father met his gaze with a look of his own, that for the first time in a long while, was not angry or disappointed. It was… thoughtful, almost wistful. The senator got into his car and was driven away, followed by a completely bewildered stare from his son.

Shin would had thought that not even a miracle would bring his father to acknowledge his son, especially not at a police station. Trying to shake off the feeling he was in an alternate universe, he kept walking, wondering how he was going to get home.

“Yo.” Came a familiar voice from his left. Come to think of it, if anyone could pull off a miracle, it would be Yankumi. He turned and saw her standing in the middle of his friends.

“You guys…” He started, but couldn’t think of what to say.

“Yo Shin!” Uchi called out, as the rest of the guys grinned at him.

“Shin-chan!” Minami said, knowing Shin hated that endearment.

Noda added, “You kept us waiting too long!”

Kuma just smiled wider. As Shin tried to figure out what they were doing here, and what they had to do with him getting out, they all strolled towards him, looking very pleased with themselves.

“Don’t burden yourself with everything,” Yankumi chastised him. “When it gets tough, lean on others. Ask for help from your friends.”

Shin moved his gaze over to the ground. Maybe he had been a bit proud in not asking for help, but he wasn’t really used to having people he could trust, that cared about him.

“You have friends who would run all over the place all night for you,” Yankumi informed him. He stared at Yankumi, surprised at this new information. He hadn’t even thought about how they all knew where he was, or why they were all downtown in the middle of the night. “Friends who would bow down to your dad for your sake.” His stare turned into a gape. They had all bowed to his father? _They_ had convinced him to come?

“It’s okay to show some signs of weakness,” Yankumi continued with a smile. “They’re all determined to keep you company, anyway. Right?” She asked the guys, who all grinned their agreement.

As Shin struggled to deal with the fact that he did not deserve friends who cared about him so much, and a teacher who had taught them how to care, he could feel his eyes burning with unshed tears.

“Sorry,” he said in a choked voice, “for causing you trouble.”

“Don’t mention it,” Uchi declared, bumping his shoulder.

Minami leaned forward. “It wasn’t any trouble to us.”

“I did it for my own enjoyment.” Noda told him.

“That’s right!” Kuma affirmed loudly.

And before he had figured out what to say that would sound like he didn’t care but relayed the fact that he was deeply grateful to them, he saw Natsumi walking towards him. The guys smirked a bit, then gave the siblings some privacy.

“Natsumi,” Shin said aloud. _What the hell are you doing here?_

“I’m sorry,” she told him contritely. “Onii-chan.”

Unlike with his friends, he knew exactly how to act with Natsumi. He tried to stifle a smile, then stepped forward and tapped the back of her head as a loving rebuke.

“Baka,” he told her, unable to hide his happiness that she was okay. She smiled back, and Yankumi joined them again.

“By the way, Sawada,” Yankumi spoke in her mock-serious tone. “If you’re tardy again tomorrow, the penalty will be cleaning the toilets.”

It took a moment for what she was really telling him to sink in. “What’re you sayin’?” He demanded, unsure if she was teasing him or not. “I’m already-”

“Your expulsion has been retracted. It was to help someone.” She told him matter-of-factly, then turned towards the police station and added, “Shinohara-san spoke to the Head Teacher for you. Head Teacher made quite a sour face.”

Shin also turned in time to see Shinohara smile and walk back inside. There was a mixture of surprise, gratitude, and the random thought of _Damnit! He’s tough competition_ (which was weird, since he wasn’t competing with Shinohara. At all. For anything) running through his mind until Yankumi spoke again.

“I am, until the day you graduate,” And she turned to him with a resolute face, “your teacher.”

And all he could think was _Damnit!_ again _,_ because the way she said that churned his insides in a very unusual manner, which he decided firmly was a result of jail food.

“Let’s go home!” Yankumi declared, and led them all in a general march. Natsumi hung back until she was next to Shin and looked at him with a suspicious glint in her eye.

“Who _is_ she?” She asked, bobbing her head towards his teacher, who was trying to convince his friends to skip on the sidewalk.

“Huh?” Shin responded, wanting to know why Natsumi was interested.

“You should have seen her, Onii-chan! She came to the house to talk to Dad, and at first she was all nice and polite and reasonable, and then when Dad started talking bad about you and your school, she jumped up and started talking like a thug from tv! She _cussed_ at _Dad_! She told him off for not believing in you, and not understanding you, and told him that he wasn’t acting like a real parent! And she wasn’t afraid or anything! I’d never seen anything like it!”

Shin breathed a shaky laugh. Yankumi had cursed at his father the Senator for not believing in his drop-out son. What he would have paid to seen that.

He glanced at Yankumi up ahead, and asked Natsumi, “Was she wearing glasses?”

“What? I, I don’t think so.”

He covered his mouth to hide his smile of admiration. Yankumi had gone to face his father in her yakuza warrior mode. Good God he lo-…respected her. Yes. That was it. Respect.

Natsumi narrowed her eyes at her brother and repeated, “Onii-chan, who _is_ she?”

Staring after his crazy yakuza teacher and his loyal idiot friends, all Shin could come up with was, “She’s…Yankumi,” shrugging helplessly.

His sister looked at him curiously, then followed his gaze up to the front of the group, then glanced back at him with a mischievous smile.

“Ah.” Natsumi spoke in a satisfied tone.

Shin looked back at her sharply. “What?” He asked suspiciously.

She gave him an infuriating smile. “Oh, nothing.” And she refused to say anything else.

The next morning, Shin arrived to find Yankumi waiting for him outside the classroom. As they walked down the stairs, she grinned widely and bumped his arm. _You’d think she was the one returning from expulsion._

“Hey, what’s your first words gonna be?” She asked conspiratorially, “You wanna go comical?” And then she did the worst imitation he had ever heard, “ _Sawada Shin is here to stay_.” He looked to the side to hide his small chuckle.

“You do that on your own,” he told her, trying to sound grumpy.

“Hey, where’s your smile?” She asked, then, clearly unhappy with his less-than-thrilled expression, pushed his cheeks up to force a smile.

“Say ‘cheese’!” She demanded, still trying to get a real smile while she forced a fake one. “Cheese!”

He stared at her, mentally shaking his head at how weird she was. “I can’t.” He mumbled the obvious.

Yankumi finally released his face and they both stepped into the class expecting some reaction, though Shin was willing to bet her expectations were much higher than his. However, both were disappointed and confused when they saw an entirely empty classroom. Before Shin could ask where everyone had gone, a ball filled with confetti opened above them, dousing them in colored paper, and all of 3-D leapt out from behind the upstairs divider, through the front door, and out of lockers. They had made a giant sign that said “Congratulations on a Retracted Expulsion!” (Who made signs like that besides 3-D?), and kept shouting and throwing streamers and confetti at him.

Although he thought they were being ridiculous and overreacting, since he had only been gone one day and his expulsion really only lasted a few hours, he was overwhelmed to see how much they had  worried about him, and how happy they were to see him.

Then, without any warning, they swept Shin up on Kuma’s shoulders and paraded him around the classroom like he had won a contest or something. Rather than trying to conceal his happiness, as he usually did, instead, he grinned like an idiot as ever more confetti landed on him.

“Hey!” Yankumi had to shout to be heard. “You’re smiling really big now!”

Shin, still smiling, shouted back, “Shut up.”

“It’s not so bad once in a while!” She teased.

And since he only really smiled when she was involved somehow, he couldn’t help but agree.


	8. Finding a Family

**Chapter Eight!**

**Good heavens, are we at episode eight already? Yay me! And yay you guys for sticking with me ;)!**

**One thing I realized while writing this chapter is that I love Kuroda-san. He’s hilarious and awesome and very much reminds me of my own grandfather. Yay for family members giving you a hard time in front of your date.**

**Notes:**

  * **Mah Jong tiles are not like the game you can play online, which is Mah Jong solitaire (where you pair up matching tiles). The original Mah Jong is a gambling game, sort of like poker.**
  * **I’ve always wondered what kind of cards Tetsu holds up that Yankumi disapproves of, and found out they’re called Hanafuda cards. Basically, when Western traders came to Japan, they brought playing cards over and everyone wanted to use them. The government saw that they were used for gambling, and so banned all foreign playing cards. Being resourceful, the rebels designed their own cards with pictures instead of suits and numbers, and when the government banned those, they came up with new cards. Eventually the government realized it was pointless, and so relaxed their rules about cards. Staring in the late 1800’s, Hanafuda cards became popular for the yakuza to use in their gambling parlors (hence why Yankumi doesn’t want them to teach Yuta how to use them).**
  * **Oba- means ‘Old lady’, or grandma, and Oji- means grandpa, or ‘old man’. So Yuta offends Yankumi by calling her oba-chan, and Yankumi calls her grandfather oji-chan because that’s what he is.**
  * **Also, a brief reminder. A zabuton is a sitting cushion, and a chabudai is the short table where you use the zabutons.**
  * **“Daruma-san falls down” is basically a version of ‘Red light, Green light’. Everyone moves slowly towards the person who is “it” while they say “Daruma-san falls down”. When “it” finishes the phrase, everyone has to freeze while “it” turns around to look at them. If someone moves, “it” calls their name and they’re out. (Daruma is the name of a round doll, used as a symbol of good luck)**
  * **A ‘V sign’ is basically the peace sign, but is the Japanese version of a thumbs up.**



**So, read, enjoy, and please review!**

* * *

 

Shin hated his brain sometimes. Sure, it was fast and smart, but it also kept pointing out things that Shin was sure he had no interest in. Like how nice Yankumi looked when she smiled. Or when she looked confused. Or when she pouted. And when he firmly told his brain that he didn’t care how she looked, it responded almost spitefully by remembering how she looked at her house, with her hair half up and no glasses, and how she didn’t look dorky or scary there, but sort of…

 _Stop it_ , he commanded his brain irritably.

“Shin!” He finally heard Uchi shouting his name.

“Hmm?” He asked, lifting his head from his arm to see his friends staring at him.

“We said, it’s study hour. What do you want to do?”

Shin shrugged. “Whatever.” A discussion of every possible option (besides actually studying) ensued.

“Ooh! We could tell ghost stories!” Noda suggested, and received a loud chorus of agreement.

Minami nodded, then thought a moment. “Does anyone know any good ones?”

The room went silent with thought, then Kuma said, “I don’t. Hey, Shin, do you know any ghost stories?”

Shin, who had gone back to arguing with his subconscious, absently answered, “Yeah, some.”

“Really?!” The rest of the class asked with a mixture of surprise and excitement.

Oh crap. He was in for it now. Before he knew it, the guys had covered the windows, pulled candles and a lantern out from who knows where and lit them on the desk. They crowded around eagerly, and Shin sighed. Might as well. It would at least keep his brain from thinking weird things.

“The Seven Mysteries of Shirokin Gakuin.” He started in a low voice. The first ghost story he told was about a vengeful mother who locked her son in a basement for failing school. The second was about a student who got private tutoring from a teacher for a month before realizing the teacher was actually dead. By this time, the whole class was entranced, thoroughly frightened, and ready for the third ‘mystery’.

“Number three,” he said, staring fixedly at the flames. “Over ten years ago, a student committed suicide in the 2nd floor bathroom. ‘His ghost still appears’, one student warned the others. ‘Oh, that’s just a rumor,’ a senior replied, laughing. But…one day, the senior had to use the bathroom on the second floor. He was washing his hands, and he looked up at the mirror,” Shin paused dramatically, “to find…”

But before he could draw out the story any more, a girlish scream came from his right. He turned to find Yankumi, who had somehow snuck into their group again, with her hands over her ears and shrieking loudly. The rest of the class, already on edge, joined in the screeching.

He glared at Yankumi, annoyed that she had ruined the actual frightening part of the story and that she had been popping up in his mind all day.

“Quiet!” He told her sharply.  She looked at him in confusion, then tried to hide how scared she had been.

“Hey, you guys,” She told them in a shaking voice. “turn the lights on! Get rid of the curtains too! Don’t just sit there.” Eager to get some light into the classroom, she pulled down the flag that was covering the window (squealing loudly when it dropped on her), and Shin starting blowing out the candles. Yankumi, despite growing up with men who looked like nightmares, was obviously someone who became terrified at the first few words of a ghost story.

“Ah, just when it was getting really good…” One of the guys complained.

“Yeah, don’t ruin it!” Kuma shouted.

“Pipe down,” Yankumi answered back. “Isn’t it study hour anyway? You  guys really need to be closely watched.” She spoke rapidly and gathered her tools quickly. “Go back to your studies now.” Escaping out into the hall, she closed the door behind her as the boys all stared.

“Heh. Yankumi was really scared.” Uchi laughed.

“Yeah, pfft. What a wuss.” Minami added, and Shin noticed that everyone was avoiding eye contact as they pretended that they hadn’t been just as frightened as Yankumi was.

“Okay Shin,” Noda told him, scooting his chair closer. “What happened next?”

Shin sighed as the boys covered the windows again and brought out lighters for the candles, eager for the story-telling to resume.

After he had told them all seven ‘mysteries’, everyone had a good scream, then tried to convince each other that they weren’t really scared at all. Soon it was time for their English class, and all the candles and the lantern were returned to their mysterious origins as the boys settled into their desks.

A few minutes before class was supposed to start, they all heard a pattering of feet heading towards their door. Before anyone could do more than look quizzically at each other, a small boy with a backpack ran into their class.

“Hide me, hide me!” he shouted, then dove for the back of the room. Since all of them had been small boys trying to hide from adults at some point of their lives, the kids of 3-D pushed him behind Kuma, threw a jacket on top of him, then returned to their conversations (or nap, in Shin’s case).

When the Head Teacher ran in the door and demanded to know where the kid was, the unspoken link with the boy only grew stronger. If the kid had irritated Head Teacher, 3-D fully approved of him.

 So they all gave Head Teacher and Minion Washio blank stares.

“Kid?”

“He should’ve just come in,” Washio explained.

3-D shrugged in unison while Shin lifted his head from his desk and responded, “Not here.”

“Did you see a ghost, perhaps?” Minami mocked.

“My eyes did not deceive me!” Head Teacher shouted, then advanced into the sea of desks, hunting his prey. His eyes stopped on Kuma, and an evil smile appeared on his face.

“Kuma, stand up please.” Head Teacher asked in English. Kuma glared and put his Danish down as he stood up.

“About face!” And when Kuma only glared more, Head Teacher muttered to himself, “Or, this is quicker,” and looked around the bear-like boy to see a small pair of eyes peeking out from behind Kuma’s chair.

“Gotcha!” The Vice Principal shouted, and grabbed the little boy, who immediately began yelling to be let go.

Yankumi, Nurse Kawashima, and Fujiyama-sensei all ran in after each other, probably drawn by the poor kid’s shrieks, Shin guessed.

But then, the kid looked up at the group of women and shouted something completely unexpected.

“Mama!” The kid exclaimed with a large smile of joy, and then, after the Head Teacher dropped him out of shock, ran towards the front of the classroom.

Shin was sure that the kid was running in slow motion, or his brain was working accursedly fast, because all he could do was sit, paralyzed, at his desk and try to estimate the kid’s trajectory and which woman he was running to, and it was taking _forever_.

When the kid crashed into the nurse with a hug, Shin let out a deep breath he didn’t know he had been holding. He couldn’t even come up with a decent response when his brain smugly asked him _why_ he had been so worried.

“Yuta!?” Kawashima asked in surprise.

Yankumi gaped openly at the nurse. “Are you…” she started.

“By any chance, his…” Fujiyama tried to continue.

The rest of 3-D kept it short and simply yelled, “Mama?”

The nurse turned the boy around and nodded. “Yup.”

All the adults left, apparently too caught up with this new discovery to realize that 3-D was supposed to be having English class. The unexpected free period was spent partly in games, then most of the students took the opportunity to head out. By the time Yankumi came back to the classroom, Shin was about to follow his friends out of the empty room.

“Sawada!” Yankumi yelled, then motioned frantically for him to join her.

 He sighed, then looked at his friends and said, “Later,” tacitly giving them permission to leave him behind with their crazy teacher. As the rest of the guys left, he walked over to Yankumi, who kept looking around as if she was paranoid.

“What?” He asked bluntly, wondering why the world she was acting this way.

“Sawada,” she whispered, leaning in close. “I need you to come over tonight.”

Shin froze as his brain went into overdrive. _Wait, **what**? She ‘needs’ me to ‘come over’ tonight. Like for a family celebration? Is she in trouble? Am I in trouble? Or like for a dinner? And is she inviting me to dinner as a poor hungry student, or dinner as a student who’s nearly an adult? Or is she really asking me what it sounds like she’s asking me, because 1) that’s really forward, and 2) why now and 3)…what do I say? What do I want to say? (Yes?)_

Before his brain could travel further along a path Shin did not want to explore at the moment, he tried to collect himself and figure out what Yankumi meant.

“What…” He was thinking of adding ‘ _the hell’_ when Yankumi interrupted him.

“See, it turns out that Kawashima-sensei has an overnight training session for nurses so she needs someone to look after Yuta for the night and all I was doing was trying to explain how heartless everyone was for coming up with excuses for not taking him in and then all of a sudden Fujiyama-sensei volunteered me to host him, and I couldn’t say that I can’t because then I’d have to explain about my family business so I need someone to come with me and make sure my family acts like normal people.”

Shin blinked as part of his mind was wondering how Yankumi could speak that long without taking a breath, another part put her previous request in this new context with a good amount of relief, and Shin decided that the small part that felt almost disappointed didn’t exist.

He closed his eyes and took a calming breath. When he opened them, he saw Yuta peering around the classroom door to stare at both of them.

“Fine.” Shin told her, too exhausted from his mental gymnastics to say anything else.

“Oba-chan. Are we leaving soon?” Yuta asked, and as tired as he was, Shin couldn’t help but be amused as Yankumi’s face went from angry eyes of steel to an incredibly fake fixed smile.

“Soon,” she told him through clenched teeth. “And let’s not call me oba-chan, kay?”

“Okay, oba-chan,” Yuta responded, then ducked out of the door.

Shin could have sworn Yankumi growled at the kid before marching after him. Shaking his head with a slight smile, Shin knew that tonight was going to be interesting.

The three of them walked to her home, and Shin got the strange experience of having complete strangers bowing as they walked by. At first it was only a few people here and there, but as they passed through a marketplace a few blocks from her home, every single person there seemed to know her.

“Ojou! Welcome home!”

“Hello Ojou!”

“Ojou, how are you? Doing well?”

“Welcome back, Ojou!”

“Oh, Ojou, would you like some fresh octopus?”

Yankumi responded to each of them with a smile, occasionally explaining that the small boy was the son of a friend of hers, and introducing Shin as well. What weirded Shin out was that some of them already knew about him.

“Ah! The Young Master Shin! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you!”

And before Shin could ask how in the world they had heard of him, he and Yuta were ushered out of the marketplace. Yankumi was walking slightly ahead of them, muttering mental notes to herself, when Shin felt a tug on his sleeve.

“Is oba-chan’s real name Ojou?” Yuta asked curiously. Shin thought a moment. His first instinct was to answer ‘no’, but he had seen how offended Yankumi got at being called ‘Old Lady’. However, normal people didn’t really use ‘Ojou’ in everyday conversation, so if he called Yankumi ‘Ojou’, it might flatter her but confuse everyone else. And so, in consideration of Yankumi’s ‘delicate feelings’, Shin came up with an alternative.

“Yes,” He whispered conspiratorially, “but it’s her secret name, so you’ve got to promise not to use it in front of other people, okay? You can call her Yankumi, like we do.”

Yuta was like most small boys in that he loved secrets and feeling included. “Got it!” He promised.

They finally reached the house, and Shin and Yuta drank juice at the chabudai while Yankumi warned her minions against acting like they normally did. Shin couldn’t hear what she was saying, but when he glanced over his shoulder, he saw all four yakuza making the most frightening faces he had ever seen, in what he gathered was an attempt to smile.

“Are you guys okay?” He muttered rhetorically, then heard Yankumi’s phone ring. As Yankumi sent the ‘gentlemen’ to go play with Yuta, Shin was struck by the thought that it was really that annoying ringtone that got him into this whole mess. If he hadn’t heard that awful melody coming from the bushes, he would have never met her family, talked with her grandfather, or found out who she really was.

 _Admit it_ , teased his brain. _You’re happy you returned that phone._

Decisively ignoring his stupid internal voice, Shin turned his attention to the fact that Mah Jong tiles were being poured onto the table. Since Yuta was having a great time mixing them around, Shin turned to see if Yankumi was done on the phone yet, and if she thought this was a good idea. She peeked around the sliding panel, saw what was happening, then said in a strangled voice that she would call back later. She hung up and came out in a righteous fury.

“What’re you guys doing?”

The four gangsters looked a bit sheepish, and Tetsu asked hesitantly, “Is it bad?”

“Yes it’s bad!” Yankumi shouted back.

“Really?” Wakamatsu said in his gravelly voice. “This could count as kanji practice.”

“It really doesn’t.” Yankumi responded, obviously not viewing gambling as educational.

Shin tried to help out. “Um, how ‘bout a card game?” Go Fish had been a childhood favorite of his.

Tetsu looked up excitedly. “We have something similar!” And he pulled a hand of Hanafuda gambling cards from his sleeve.

“Oh good!” The others heartily approved.

“That’s not the same at all!” It was clear that Yankumi was getting more exasperated by the moment.

“How ‘bout a song?” Minoru suggested, and everyone pointed and applauded his creativity. And yet, when he started the tape player and began to sing, Shin thought that Minoru was doing an excellent howling dog impersonation.

“Sawada,” He turned to see Yankumi closing her eyes with a pained expression. “Make the singing stop. I beg of you.”

Shin gave a breath of a chuckle, then firmly shut her down. “No way.” He wasn’t dumb enough to try and take a microphone away from someone who weighed five times more than him.

They endured three more songs before Kuroda-san came home, and everything stopped as they went to meet the yakuza leader. Shin felt a measure of envy as Kuroda-san received and gave bows and smiles and greetings, until he suddenly heard, “Oh! Young Master Shin! It’s so good to see you here again,” and realized that Kuroda-san was giving him a bow and smile like he was part of the family.

“And who’s this fine young man, hmm?” Yankumi’s grandfather crouched down to Yuta’s eye level as Yankumi explained the circumstances. Yuta then asked if Kuroda-san’s real name was ‘Boss’, to which he laughed and said, “Not really. But you can call me that if you like.”

At dinner, despite his protests (which were rather weak at this point), Shin was again seated at the head of the table. As everyone was settling in, the older man leaned towards Shin and told him, “Now remember, you do your best to keep these trouble-makers in line. Especially this one.” And he pointed at Yankumi.

“Grandpa!” Yankumi protested as Shin smiled widely. He _liked_ Kuroda-san.

When everyone was seated, Kuroda-san said the blessing, and they all dug in. All except Yuta.

Yankumi noticed him staring at his fish, and asked what the matter was. Kuroda-san told Yuta much the same thing he told Shin on his first night there. “Don’t hold back, little boy. Eat as much as you want.”

Despite the smiles and encouragement, Yuta pouted and muttered, “I don’t like fish.”

The table froze, and Tetsu stood up in anger. “What? Don’t be so picky!”

“Tetsu-san,” Shin said, to remind him that Yuta was a guest and not a yakuza child.

To Shin’s relief and surprise (he wasn’t quite sure if that would work), Tetsu immediately ducked his head, apologized, and sat back down. But it was only a few seconds later that Yuta actually tasted the fish (which was an improvement) and declared that it tasted bad (which was not). Minoru, who had made the food, was the next one to stand up, enraged.

“What did you say?” Minoru demanded through a full mouth.

“Minoru-san,” Shin spoke in the same calm, quiet tone and, when the large man returned to his seat, was gratified to see that it worked on Minoru too.

“I don’t want anymore.” Yuta informed the table as he got up and walked away. This time, it was Yankumi who took offense.

“Sit!” She commanded, and when Yuta turned around in astonishment she explained, “When others make something for you, you show thanks. When it’s served, you eat it with gratitude!” Yankumi punctuated each word by slamming one hand against the other.

Shin was startled to see all of the yakuza members trembling in fear (Tetsu was hiding under his zabuton). While he had been slightly hesitant to call out Tetsu and Minoru, he had no qualms dealing with their terrifying Ojou.

“Yankumi.” He said her name with a slightly ironic rebuke. She had been the one all gung-ho about making sure the minions didn’t frighten the kid, and she was as guilty as everyone else. She snapped out of her yakuza rage, knelt down, and spoke in a very fake, high-pitched voice.

“Yuta-kun, let’s eat properly, shall we?” Her attempt to be normal and sweet made Shin roll his eyes.

“Okay.” Yuta responded, then returned to the chabudai. He took another bite of the fish, then his eyes widened. “Delicious!”

At this the adults laughed, and Shin realized that Yuta had probably never had someone explain why he should be grateful for his food.

“Go ahead!” Wakatsu encouraged him. “Eat more!”

Yankumi also returned to the table, only to smile at Yuta and ruffled his hair proudly. “Good.” She told him. “You’re a good boy, you are.”

 _He’s not a dog_ , Shin told her silently, but let her have her fun as he finished his meal. After dinner, Yuta changed into his pajamas, but told everyone that he wasn’t tired.  While Shin and the others came up with activities for him, he heard Yankumi tell her grandfather that she was off for her bath. His eyes followed her down the hall before Shin yanked them firmly back to the task at hand. It was then that Tetsu asked if Yuta wanted to sumo wrestle with him and Minoru, which received an ecstatic ‘yes’.

With Yuta now entertained, Wakatsu and Makoto said good night and left Shin and Kuroda-san at the table. They watched Minoru pretend to struggle under Yuta’s attack, then Kuroda-san turned to Shin and asked, “Now, where did ‘Yankumi’ come from?”

Shin shrugged. “It’s a nickname the class gave her. You know, _Yam_ aguchi _Kumi_ ko. I think they made it up to annoy her, but she ended up liking it.”

Kuroda-san laughed. “That sounds like Kumiko, alright. Now, how is school? Any trouble lately?”

“There hasn’t been any for a while,” Shin paused. “Which means that some should be coming up soon.”

They both chuckled at that. “Now, how about you? How are you doing?” Shin was about to say ‘fine’, as he always did, but the gravity in the older man’s voice stopped him.

“Better.” He said after a moment. Because looking back, it was true. Even if it did make that stupid little voice happy that he admitted it.

The yakuza leader nodded in a satisfied way, then added, “Our home is always open to you, Sawada Shin. Remember that.” Shin looked at the man in surprise, then bowed in thanks.

Just then, Yankumi, with a towel around her neck and her hair half-dried, entered the room. She stopped at the sight of Yuta and Tetsu using Minoru as a pillow.

Smiling, she walked over and asked, “What are these three doing, sleeping here?”

“Tetsu and Minoru played sumo with Yuta so much that they got exhausted.” Shin explained, noticing that Yuta had copied Tetsu’s pose before falling asleep.

“It’s a lot of work to raise a child,” Yankumi remarked as she looked fondly at the three sleeping figures.

 _She’d make a good mother_ , his brain commented out of the blue.

Before he could tell his brain that he wasn’t interested in such comments, Kuroda-san spoke.

“When you came sixteen years ago, it was a lot worse.” Shin pricked up his ears. Now Yankumi’s mischievous childhood he was definitely interested in. “You were selfish and stubborn…”

Yankumi rushed over to interrupt. “Hold on a sec, Grandpa. Such a story in front of Sawada…” The fact that she didn’t want him to hear about it only made him more interested.

“It’s okay, isn’t it?” He asked Kuroda-san, who laughed and continued.

“Full-grown adults running back and forth, attending to your every whim.” Yankumi looked properly embarrassed and Shin grinned as he easily imagined Wakatsu and the others running in circles while a young Yankumi cried. “But since you came…” And here Kuroda smiled softly. “This house is always filled with laughter.”

Yankumi ducked her head, embarrassed in a different way now, and Shin couldn’t help smiling at the obvious love this man had for his granddaughter.

“Kumiko, you taught us that the more trouble there is, the happier people can become.”

At first, Shin was sure that the older man had misspoke, because he didn’t know anyone who was happy to get more trouble. Then he thought about what he had said. _The happier people **can** become_. Having a seven year old to take care of suddenly could have definitely been seen as more trouble. But, if there are the right kind of people, there can be more happiness despite the trouble.

Shin then saw why Kuroda-san was such a great leader. Not only was he caring and kind to those around him, he considered the outcomes to situations, the consequences of actions, and had the wisdom to look beyond the surface of life. Shin found himself wishing that he had known Kuroda-san as a kid. But then again, if he hadn’t ended up at a bottom-ranked school like Shirokin, he wouldn’t have met Yankumi. _The more trouble there is, the happier people can become_.

“Of course, I don’t know if it was a happy situation for you.” Kuroda-san added, looking at his granddaughter.

Yankumi gave him a gentle smile and simply said, “Grandpa…”

Her grandfather then laughed and ruffled her hair affectionately, revealing to Shin where she had got the gesture from. He also realized that it was a sign of being part of her family, and how much she cared about the kids in her class to pass it along to them.

“Oh, look at that,” Kuroda-san gestured to Yuta. “He’s cute in his sleep, too.”

Shin and Yankumi turned to look, and both smiled affectionately at the boy. As Shin turned back and saw the tender expression on Yankumi’s face, his brain suddenly decided to show him a parallel universe, where they were both wearing matching rings, and Yuta had a different name.

He shook his head to get the oddly peaceful vision out, then saw that it was nearing 10:30 _. It must be a lack of sleep causing hallucinations_ , Shin told himself, and started to make his good-byes.

“Well, it’s getting late, and I should probably get going,” He said as he stood up.

Kuroda-san stood up as well, then said, “It’s already dark out! Why don’t you stay here for the night?”

Yankumi’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, and Shin half-grinned in amusement.

“Thank you, but I can manage in the dark. And besides, I have this awful teacher first thing in the morning, so I’d better be well rested.” Shin replied.

“Fujiyama-sensei is not – Hey!”

Shin glanced over after Yankumi’s outburst as Kuroda-san laughed heartily. “Baka,” he teased gently, then bowed to the older man.

“Thank you for your hospitality.”

“Come back anytime.” Kuroda-san answered sincerely.

“Don’t be late as usual, Shin!” Yankumi called out as he walked away, producing a small smile.

The next day, he was on time, but his teacher wasn’t. When Yankumi finally arrived, Yuta was tagging along behind her. She took a moment to write his name and age up on the board.

“Everyone, this is Yuta. We’re keeping him here in 3-D ‘til Kawashima-sensei returns.”

Yuta took this as his cue and bowed. “Thank you for letting me stay.”

3-D started smiling and laughing about how polite he was.

“You guys,” Yankumi called their attention back. “Remember, kids copy everything adults do.” She raised an eyebrow warningly at them, then sent Yuta to go sit next to Shin.

Shin leaned forward and tried to stifle his grin at seeing the kid again.

“Yo.” He nodded.

Yuta smiled and waved at him. “Hi, Shin.”

His friends all looked at each other in confusion.

“How do you guys know each other?” Kuma asked curiously.

“It’s a secret,” Shin responded, then grinned at Yuta. “Right?”

The seven-year old nodded, and Shin pulled out a chair for him as his friends become more confused and suspicious.

“Well, let’s begin today’s lesson.” Yankumi said from the front. When 3-D paid no attention, as they usually did when lessons started, Yankumi coughed significantly and pointed her chin at Yuta, who was watching everyone inquisitively.

Mumbling and grumbling, the boys reached under their desks and pulled out their math books, many of them dusty with disuse.

“That’s not bad,” Yankumi said smugly. “It’s like school.”

Shin rolled his eyes. “It is school.” He muttered, then wondered something. “Hey,” he nudged Yuta. “How did the Head Teacher let you stay?”

“Ojou told me to cry.” The boy whispered with a wide smile. Shin snorted, shook his head, and glanced at his dorky teacher writing equations on the board. Yankumi was obviously getting the full use out of this kid.

3-D quickly adopted Yuta as their mascot, finding a spare desk and placing a “3-D Special Student” cone on it. Everything he did was considered amazing, and Yuta received more pats and ‘Aww’s than a puppy doing tricks.

When it came time for their English class, the rest of the guys convinced Yuta that he wanted to sit up front for ‘Shizuka-chan’. And since Yuta wouldn’t move without Shin, Shin found himself sitting in the front row as Fujiyama-sensei came in.

“Good morning!” She said, giving Yuta a smile.

“Good morning!” the rest of the class chorused back.

“How are you?”

And as the rest of the class’s grasp of English flew out the window (the effects of the study sessions hadn’t lasted long), one lone voice answered Shizuka-chan’s question.

“I’m fine, thank you. And you?” Yuta said proudly. Fujiyama applauded him and the rest of 3-D joined in. Shin ruffled his hat and was immensely amused at the fact that a first grader knew more English than all of these high school seniors.

And so, 3-D got to have a day where they all felt like kids again, whether it was starting a splash fight in the bathroom, or playing “Daruma-san falls down” during their study hour. Shin was appointed Yuta’s ‘helper’ for the game, and got to pick out who was still moving when the phrase was over. When Yuta called Kuma out, he triumphantly gave Shin a V sign, which the older boy found himself returning, even though he hadn’t done one since he was a little kid playing with his sister.

When Kawashima returned for Yuta, he loudly told him mom how much fun he had playing with the “onii-chans”. While Yuta explained all the games they had played, Shin softly smiled at having someone call him ‘onii-chan’ again. His mother tried to leave, but Yuta insisted he show her where his desk was, and the special cone they made for him. The nurse joined him at his desk, then asked if he had learned how to twirl yet. Yuta hung his head in shame.

“Ah, don’t look so sad,” Yankumi told him, patting his head. “You’ll learn it soon.”

All of 3-D heartily agreed, and shouted encouragements until the Head Teacher entered the room.

“Kawashima-sensei, Yuta’s grandparents are in the faculty room.” He said grimly.

“They’re upset that you might’ve taken him forcefully.” Washio added.

Fujiyama explained, “It sounds like Yuta came without their knowledge.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to the small boy. “Yuta,” his mother said firmly, “You came without telling Grandpa and Grandma? Did you?”

Yuta mumbled a soft apology, confirming the story.

“Why did you do something like that? I don’t like liars.” Kawashima sounded upset and irritated, but the boys of 3-D could sympathize with Yuta’s actions.

“Don’t scold him like that.” Uchi said with furrowed brows.

“Yeah,” Kuma chimed in. “Yuta came to see you.”

“Be more understanding,” Noda told her, and a chorus of agreement followed his statement.

However, the nurse gathered Yuta’s things and told him to go home with his grandparents. At that, even Shin had to speak up.

“You’re letting him go already?” He asked softly. “Hasn’t it been a while _?” If you have a kid who loves you enough to run away to see you, don’t punish him for it._

“Yes, why not be together at least for today?” Yankumi suggested.

Ignoring them, Kawashima grabbed Yuta’s hand and led him away, with Yankumi following worriedly.

“What’s with that woman?” Minami asked.

“She awful.” Noda decided, while Shin stared out the door and wondered why any mother would want to get rid of her kid like that, especially since it seems she enjoyed spending time with him.

The atmosphere in the classroom quickly became gloomy as everyone sat staring at the now empty desk, still labeled with Yuta’s name. So when Kawashima returned for her overnight back, she felt the full force of two dozen sad, accusing looks.

Taking a breath, she thanked them for taking care of Yuta and tried to leave. But comments started to pop up from around the room.

“Poor thing,” Uchi said aloud. “Do you understand how he felt coming here…and then leaving?” _Because we do_. The unspoken comment was just as loud as its audible counterpart.

“Yes, I do,” She answered, staring at the floor.

“Then why did you let him go so soon?” Kuma demanded.

“Aren’t you being cold?”

“I thought you were better than that.”

“You call yourself a mother?”

Shin watched curiously as the nurse looked close to tears. If she regretted letting him go, why did she?

“Why? Why don’t you live with him?” Even Fujiyama-sensei couldn’t understand.

“It’s not that simple.” Kawashima said, which was not enough of an explanation for anyone.

“Is it that difficult?” Minami asked, which pushed the woman a little too far.

“It’s none of your business!” She retorted angrily.

Noda continued to push, “Isn’t it normal for mother and child to live together?” And he held up Yuta’s Special Student marker for emphasis.

“What do you guys understand?”

“I don’t understand.” Uchi replied, getting to his feet. “How can you let it be…I don’t understand at all!”

And as questions and judgments echoed around the room, Shin could see her coming to a decision.

“He’s not mine!” She shouted, which instantly silenced everyone. “He was born to my husband and his ex-wife. I’ve lived with him since he was a year old, and we lived together until last year. So he thinks I’m his mom. But we’re totally unrelated!” And with that, she fled the classroom.

Shin let out a breath as he realized her dilemma. She didn’t think she had the right to keep him. She wanted to, but didn’t think she could. Although he felt for her, he knew it was stupid. Family wasn’t just about blood relation. Looking at Yankumi’s family, she and her grandfather were the only ones directly related, but he had never seen as loving a family as their odd conglomeration.

Noda, who had decided to take a walk to clear his head, suddenly rushed in the door.

“There’s trouble! I heard Yuta is missing.”

As 3-D reacted in shock, Uchi voiced everyone’s thoughts aloud. “He doesn’t wanna go home.”

Kuma guessed, “He probably ran away in order to see his mom.”

While his classmates sat, wondering what to do, Shin stood up. “Hey,” he said softly, but everyone immediately paid attention. “Let’s go look for him.”

Those five words were all it took for the entire class to leap out of their seats and storm out of the school, pushing past Head Teacher on their way. Shin quickly split the boys up to cover more ground, and tried to hide how worried he was as the hours passed and there was no sign of him. 3-D searched long and hard for their mascot, and Shin was finding it harder and harder to keep calm every time his friends looked to him after a group reported back with nothing.

When his phone rang with Yankumi’s name on the caller ID, he nearly fainted in relief to hear that she had found Yuta, but all his adrenaline rushed back when she told him they were at the hospital. Hanging up, he shouted the news to his friends, who all ran as fast as they could towards the hospital while calling the rest of their classmates to pass on the update.

All twenty-six of them pushed through the doors to find Yankumi sitting in the waiting room.

“Yankumi!” Shin shouted, and Kuma quickly asked how Yuta was.

“They’re patching him up.” She told him quietly.

“Is he badly hurt?” Noda questioned worriedly.

She smiled and said, “Not so bad. Just cuts and bruises.”

3-D let out a collective sigh of relief, and Shin looked away so Yankumi wouldn’t see how scared he had been.

_Goodness, you’d think he was your kid. Yours and hers-_

_Shut up!_ He told his brain irritably.

Everyone crowded onto the small waiting room benches, while Shin and a few others paced with Yankumi as they waited for the doctor. When Fujiyama arrived without Kawashima, she explained that the nurse came as far as the entrance, then left, saying “I’ll leave the rest to you.”

The seated boys rose to their feet, muttering darkly, while Yankumi rushed out into the street. Her class called after her, and Shin simply stared as she left. Having lost her own parents, he knew that she couldn’t stand the thought of a mother willingly leaving her child.

He was just about to go after her when Shinohara-san and his partner showed up. Shin explained what had happened (politely, because they were policemen after all, and even if he didn’t like the man, he did respect him. He also ignored his brain wondering _why_ he didn’t like him and what (or who) it had to do with), and as he finished, Yuta’s grandparents arrived.

The doctor came out with Yuta a few minutes later, bandaged and sad, but otherwise fine. The boys barely had time to say hello before the grandparents tried to leave with Yuta. Shinohara-san asked them to wait for Kawashima, but the grandfather told them it was better they left now.

The group followed them out to their car, trying to stall for time, but soon they had made their goodbyes and started to drive away. It was then that the boys heard an anguished cry of “Yuta!”, and saw Kawashima running by, with Yankumi close behind.

Shin felt a rush of gratification as he knew that Yankumi had worked her magic once again, and quickly followed after her, leading the group of boys and adults. Eventually the car came to a stop, and they all watched as Yuta ran towards his mother, shouting “Mama” all the way.

They could only hear Yuta’s responses to Kawashima’s murmured questions, but what they heard made them proud. Yuta firmly stated that he didn’t want toys or games, that he wouldn’t complain about food, and that he didn’t mind staying home alone. And when the nurse tried to explain that she wasn’t his real mother, his simple declaration that “Mama is mama!” brought a tear to every eye.

And as Kawashima begged her in-laws so she could keep Yuta, all Shin could think was that none of this would have happened without his hopeless, clueless, dorky teacher, who had too much heart for her own good.

“If that’s what Yuta wants… it can’t be helped.” Yuta’s grandfather said with a smile.

“That’s right.” His grandmother agreed. “If they’re happy together… that may be the best thing.”

“Kikuno-san, please take care of Yuta.” And with that, custody was officially transferred to Yuta’s real mother.

The crowd of observers walked closer to the hugging pair, and when Yuta smiled up at Shin, Shin voluntarily gave him a V sign and found himself smiling broadly as the boy returned it. The happiness all around quickly turned into a streetside celebration, with cheering and tossing Yuta up into the air.

The next day, Kawashima brought Yuta by to say hello and to tell them that he was moving to a new school now.

Shin congratulated him, then said, “If there’s trouble at your new school, tell me, okay?”

Uchi patted him on the head and shouted, “Take care of your mom!”

Yuta nodded and received shouts of good luck and encouragement. He then marched up to Yankumi and asked, “Can I come visit your house again?”

Shin grinned at the surprise on Yankumi’s face.

“You must’ve had a lot of fun,” Kawashima commented.

“Yeah, I learned new words there.” Oh dear. “Like ‘Wassup, Aniki’.”

Yankumi hastened to explain with a nervous smile. “We were doing yakuza impersonations!”

Shin rolled his eyes as he wondered how many times she was going to use that excuse.

“When I grow up, I’ll come to this school!” Yuta declared happily.

“I’ll be expecting you,” Kuma smiled in reply.

It took a minute for Yankumi to process what had been said. “Hey Kuma, you won’t still be here, will you?”

“Um…” Kuma had to think this through as well.

“Actually,” Yankumi teased, “You might still be here.”

Yuta quickly joined in the teasing with shouting “He will, he will, he will,”

Shin knelt down to agree with him. “He will be here still, won’t he?” As he watched the class pick up Yuta’s chant, he glanced over to see Yankumi laughing at them, and for some reason, his own smile softened and grew. And when his brain pointed out how beautiful she looked, Shin did not disagree.


	9. A Long Lost Friend

**Chapter NINE! Slowly but surely, we march forward!**

**Author’s Notes:**

**\- In this episode, we learn that Yankumi holds the anime “Attack Number One” very dear to her heart. She sings the theme song to encourage the volleyball players, then channels it later when she runs into a… difficulty with her ‘plan’ to cheer them on. It’s an anime based off a manga (are there any animes that aren’t?) that ran between 1968- 1970 (super old!). It’s about a girl named Kozue Ayuhara who transfers to college and tries out for the volleyball team. She surprises everyone with her amazing volleyball skills, and tries to become the best volleyball player in the world! Yay! (She also faces the stress, dilemmas, and drama that can only be found in the ridiculous world of anime)**

**\- You all have no idea how many times I wrote ‘Ichigo’ instead of ‘Kurosaki’. Because he’s a lanky high schooler with orange hair and the last name of Kurosaki, I apparently named him Ichigo in my head. For those of you who don’t know, Kurosaki Ichigo is the main character of the manga and anime ‘Bleach’, which was my first introduction into Japanese culture!**

**Anyway, read, enjoy, and review! Thanks so much!**

* * *

 

Shin was starting to form the unpleasant habit of naturally waking up early. The first time it happened, he glanced at the clock, saw that it was 6:45 am, and immediately rolled over to go back to sleep. But he couldn’t. It was almost as if his body wanted to be up early, to get ready, and get to school on time. He resolutely stayed in bed, trying to force himself to go back to sleep, for a good forty-five minutes before he gave up. And since then, without any alarms, he started to wake up at the ungodly hour of 6:45 every school day. He tried to remind his body that he used to be able to sleep for hours, anywhere, anytime, but his eyes still automatically opened at a quarter til seven. Then he tried to figure out why he woke up with time to spare, and when it all started.

His eyes widened when he realized who was to blame. He had no trouble sleeping in, napping through school, staying up late, and repeating the cycle until Yankumi had come along. School had gotten interesting, and now, his subconscious wanted to be there on time. After this revelation, Shin purposefully arrived late to school for a few days, just to show everyone (including his subconscious) that he could. Satisfied with the fact that he successfully proven something (he wasn’t sure what), he found himself giving in and getting ready for school at a decent hour.

His friends eventually grew used to the always tardy Shin showing up on time, and after their shock had passed, started expecting him to walk to school with them. It was after one such walk that everyone stopped at the school gates to stare at the large banner decorated the side of the school, proudly congratulating the volleyball team for making it to the National Championships.

The majority of the group was marveling at the fact that any part of their school excelled at anything, but Shin was pushing away memories of a lost friend who had loved volleyball more than anything. It was in the middle of their respective reveries that Yankumi ran into them. Literally.

Heads turned in unison to stare at their fallen teacher, who muttered an ‘ouch’ before scolding them for standing dangerously in the middle of the gates. Sighing at the fact that any normal person would have noticed a large group of students and thus gone around them, Shin met her gaze and nodded his head at the banner.

Yankumi got to her feet and moved in the front of them as the guys commented on how it was unbelievable that the team had actually done it.

“Wow! That’s great!” Yankumi beamed. “Kids at our school aren’t too bad, after all. It’s just a matter of making effort. Yeah!” And she cheered at the end as if she was the one who advanced to Nationals.

“Hey,” Uchi interrupted her self-congratulatory pep talk. “Aren’t you late?”

“Yeah! Wait, what?” She glanced at her watch and looked up in surprise, as if being late was unusual for her. “That’s right! You guys don’t be late either!” With this last parting advice, she sped off to the laughter of her students.

By the time they got to the classroom, everyone had heard about the volleyball team’s achievement, and Maeda and Senzoku were showing off their skills to the rest of the class. There was the usual mix of boasting, exaggerating, teasing, and encouragement as everyone speculated what would happen and what their reward would be.

Yankumi arrived after her staff meeting and loudly congratulated the two team members.

“I didn’t even know you were on the volleyball team!” She exclaimed happily. “Job well done! Why don’t you knock the wind out of the Head Teacher?” Her voice changed to a slightly evil tone, and Shin guessed Head Teacher had spent a good part of the staff meeting insulting 3-D. He wondered if anyone had told her what had happened last volleyball season. From her usual cheerful manner, he guessed not.

“Even in agony… Even in sorrow…” And suddenly Shin realized she was singing to herself. “I’m alright once I’m in a court.” She sniffed, then turned to the class with a broad smile. “Right?”

And the all-boy class of 3-D understandably had no idea what or why she was singing. “Huh?” Everyone shouted loudly, while Shin asked, “What’s that?”

Trying to recover from an obvious cultural gap of high school boys not knowing a classic anime theme song, Yankumi continued on. “Well, anyway… I mean, do your best. Alright?”

Maeda grinned and told her, “Leave it to us!”

“Look forward to it!” Senzoku added.

Uchi took the opportunity to bring some reality to the conversation. “But you guys won’t be in the actual game.”

Kuma leaned on Noda, both wearing matching grins, and commented, “Eternal benchwarmers, right?”

Yankumi frowned as the realization hit her. “Oh. So you’re substitutes.”

Both boys were wounded by this blunt description and hung their heads in synchronized shame.

She rushed to reassure them. “Whether you’re a substitute or a regular, it makes no difference.” The dangerous gleam of blind zeal and enthusiasm appeared in her eye as she began to lose herself in whatever grand delusion she was imagining this time.

“A National competition means people from all over the country are gathering to have a match.” The boys started to glance at each other and one by one, quickly headed for the opposite end of the classroom.

“So why don’t we cheer for our classmates! Let’s all do it!” Filled with newfound energy, she punched the air and shouted “Oh!”

When she turned around, Shin was the only student left. (Only because he was too lazy to move. Not because she’d look all sad and disappointed if she saw that everyone had moved away from her, and especially not because he cared whether she was sad or unhappy or whatever. He stayed because he was lazy. That was it. No other reason.)

While Yankumi looked around for the rest of her class in confusion, she heard Noda commenting from the front of the room.

“But, you know, it’ll be kinda sad for a bunch of guys to cheer.”

“At the National level, we’d want cheerleaders.” Of course Minami wanted cheerleaders, but it turned out that so did most of the boys. The group starting chanting for cheerleaders until Shin rained on their parade.

“There are no girls at this school.” He said matter-of-factly.

The boys froze mid-chant as they processed this information.

“I suppose that’s…true.” Kuma said slowly.

“Shoot! All boys schools suck!”

Suddenly, a light, girlish voice came from the back of the classroom. “Alright. I get it,” the voice continued shyly as all heads turned slowly towards its source. “Don’t beat around the bush,” Yankumi fluttered her eyelids delicately as she played with her pigtail from her perch on top of a desk. “It can’t be helped.”

 _Ohhh no,_ was all Shin could think. _This can’t be good._

“If you say so, I’ll do it.” She murmured coquettishly to herself. “It’s for you guys that I love.”

Shin tried to break into her trance as gently as he could. “Um, no one is asking you.” He said softly, hoping she wasn’t going to cry or kill them.

Obviously he had been too gentle. Yankumi stood up on the desk with a determined smile and declared, “Operation Win by Zealous Cheers at the National Competition! Oh!” And without a backwards glance, she marched out of the room.

The rest of the class shrugged, then headed out for an early lunch. Yankumi appeared a good twenty minutes later with a shopping bag in hand, and told them all to gather the volleyball team and meet her in the gym in ten minutes. The boys stared her for a moment, then went back to their lunch until Yankumi started forcing them out of their chairs and pushing them towards the gym. Taken aback by her strength (she pulled Kuma’s chair out from under him), the students of 3-D finally headed out, mumbling and grumbling about interruptions and crazy teachers.

When they got to the gym, Shin looked curiously at all the male teachers and wondered why they had all brought cameras. He then dismissed the thought and stood with the rest of his class, looking bored.

Minami complained, “She’s late. What’s Yankumi doing?”

“She called us out here,” Noda shrugged.

“I’m in the middle of my lunch!” Kuma protested as he stuffed more noodles into his mouth.

Since he was standing right next to the group of men (it looked like every male involved with any aspect of the school was there), Shin overheard some comments that made him rather suspicious.

“You too, Washio-sensei?”

“Well, you’re here too, Iwamoto-sensei.”

“Pervert. I’m here as the team coach.”

The creepy Biology teacher was too far away to hear clearly, but he picked up Fujiyama-sensei’s name from him, and Ando-sensei said something about Kawashima-sensei. Shin saw the two women mentioned standing at the end with contemptuous looks towards the group of temporary paparazzi, heard the surprised tone as the P.E. teacher stated, “They haven’t changed…”, and suddenly got a really bad feeling about what was about to happen.

“Everyone! Thanks for waiting!” The same girlish voice from earlier was back. And as everyone turned to look, their mouths dropped open in shock.

Standing there, in high pigtails, yellow pom poms, and red miniskirt, was Yankumi. Before there was any time to react, she immediately burst into a choreographed dance and cheer.

“Hooray, hooray, Shirokin. Let’s go Shirokin! Waaahhh, Shirokin!” She held her cheerleading pose for a moment, then looked to see why she wasn’t getting any applause. It was only then that she saw the other two women still in their normal clothes.

“Huh? How come you guys didn’t…”

Kawashima gave her a pitying look. “We can’t dress like that.”

Uchi finally recovered his power of speech and asked in a shocked tone, “You… How old are you?”

The fact that she looked completely taken aback by the fact that she couldn’t pull off a high schooler’s cheerleader uniform, and the fact that she had even come up with such an idea was almost too much for Shin. He was finding it extremely difficult to not burst out laughing at the ridiculous picture she made. It was almost as bad as her thief catching outfit.

“Come on, let’s go back.” The entire crowd turned and was about to leave (Shin was debating using the ‘too lazy to move’ excuse again) until they heard the Vice Principal’s voice.

“What are you all doing here?”

He walked forward, then stopped as Yankumi turned around. “Yamaguchi-sensei,” He said, then examined her outfit. “Sailor Moon?” he guessed.

Yankumi bit her lip, glanced away, then fled to the corner of the gym and collapsed on the floor.

“I can’t help my tears…” She said in a melodramatic voice. “I’m a girl, you know.”

“Ah. Attack Number One, eh?” Head Teacher nodded as he figured out what anime she was trying to be in ( _How the hell did he know?,_ Shin wondered), then told everyone else to get back to their classrooms. Yankumi stayed dramatically posed on the floor a little longer, then rushed out with loud sniffs.

Shin sighed, then found himself following her. Someone needed to make sure she didn’t do anything stupid. ( _And you want to make sure she’s okay_ , his brain told him smugly, which he ignored since he didn’t have a good response. _Face it,_ the stupid voice continued _, the only other person you voluntarily comfort when crying is your sister. And you don’t think of Yankumi as a sibling, I’ll tell you that much._ He tried glaring at himself, but it didn’t work out that well.) He heard her heading up to the roof after a brief stop in the bathroom, where he assumed she changed back into her pink tracksuit. By the time he made it up to the top, he saw the cheerleading shirt, skirt, and pom poms thrown on the ground, and Yankumi crouched in a corner, crying to herself.

He walked over to the bench, sat on it, and waited for her to calm down. When the muffled sobs showed no signs of stopping, he sighed again and tried to think of something encouraging to say.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, “Everyone found it amusing.”

She looked up at him with a weepy glare. “I didn’t do it for a laugh!” She informed him angrily, but she stopped crying, at least, which made Shin feel better. He didn’t like to see her crying, even if it was over something stupid she did. And he resolutely ignored the inner voice that tried to point out _why_ that was.

“I did it to cheer for the students somehow.” Yankumi pouted a bit, then froze. “Oh, wait. There’s another way.”

Shin looked over to see the same overzealous gleam in her eye and a determined smile on her face, and wasn’t sure if this was any better than her weeping. Still, she looked much happier, and walked back to the classroom like nothing had happened.  Shin followed cautiously, waiting to see what this new smile meant, but the day passed by fairly normally.

It was the next day when they found out what Yankumi’s new plan was. Proudly placed in the middle of the announcement board was a poster asking for volunteers for the Shirokin Gakuin Cheerleaders  Formation, with oddly accurate drawings of Kuma, Uchi, Minami, and Noda. Shin felt very relieved that she hadn’t tried to include him on this crazy venture. Things became worse when Shin read the bottom of the page, which stated, “If interested, contact 3-D Head Cheerleader Captain Uchiyama!”

“Hey, Uchi,” Minami asked, as Noda snickered behind his hand, “When did you become Head Cheerleader?”

“Damn Yankumi.” Uchi growled.

“Hm,” Shin thought aloud. “A cunning ploy…” _It’s almost like she thought this out._ It was a good set up, but she still needed to have some incentive to get it to work.

When they got into the classroom, Yankumi greeted them with a broad grin, looking extremely proud of herself. Uchi plopped himself on a desk and muttered in an irritated voice, “I didn’t say I’d be a cheerleader.”

“But in my eyes, you’re the most qualified.” Yankumi explained earnestly. Shin quirked up his eyebrow and watched Yankumi, certain that heartfelt justifications for her idea were not enough to convince his classmates.

“Don’t decide that on your own.” Uchi told her sharply, which she ignored.

“Minami is the assistant head, Noda is the manager,” Both boys jumped up in protest. They had been having fun teasing Uchi about being a cheerleader; they didn’t want to be in his same position.

“And Kuma will carry the flag!” Yankumi ended happily.

Kuma complained, “Why am I the flag guy?”

“You know, you never hear of a school without cheerleaders,” She said, not answering the question. “I want you guys to do your best for your friends who will compete at the Nationals!”

The guys shook their heads and started to leave, just as Shin expected.

“No way.”

“Hey, it’s only until the national competition ends!” She tried to clarify.

Noda paused to tell her, “We’re busy with… things.” And he too, headed out.

Shin thought that she would turn into the usual confused, pouting Yankumi, but she slowly looked up with a devious grin.

“It’s not for nothing.” She said mischievously. Everyone stopped and turned.

Yankumi triumphantly pulled out a stack of pictures. “I set up a party with college cheerleaders.” Her eyebrows danced up and down invitingly.

Shin scoffed under his breath. “Ha! No way they’ll fall for that.” And yet, he was nearly crushed as the rest of his classmates shoved past him to grab at the pictures.

“Meeting college girls can’t be too bad, hmm?” Yankumi asked rhetorically as she passed out the photos. Shin rolled his eyes in disgust as everyone around him gazed at the pictures and started smiling like perverts. A few moments went by, then every guy in his class looked at Yankumi and shouted, “Alright!”

Shin pushed his way out towards the back door and muttered, “They’re all too easy.” The likelihood of college girls showing any interest in high school boys was close to none. Older women did not go for younger men (or boys in their case). Suddenly irritated, he stomped up the stairs as Yankumi sent the rest of the idiots on a mission to solicit members from the whole school.

He spent the rest of the day on the roof, trying to sleep away his bad mood. When the bell rang, he met up with the guys and headed home.

“Man, Yankumi sure knows how to manipulate us.” Minami complained.

“She knows exactly which button to push. Right?” Noda asked.

But since they knew they were being manipulated and were still going through with it, Shin had no sympathy.

“It’s also called trickery.” Shin commented drily.

The boys turned to face him. “Since you’re not a cheerleader, you can’t meet the college girls.” Kuma told him in a sing-song voice.

“That’s right,” Uchi added. “It’s too late to join.”

“So there!” The rest of them chorused.

Shin shook his head. “That doesn’t matter.” _Because there are no college cheerleaders to meet, and you’re the only ones that would believe such an obvious con._

He glanced to the side, then stopped. He blinked a few times to make sure what he was seeing was real, then he called Uchi over. When his friend asked what was going on, all he did was nod at the figure across the road. Both boys stared at the piece of their past as he fiddled with his phone. When Kurosaki Yuji looked up, all three exchanged unreadable glances. It looked almost as if Kurosaki was about to speak when a group of guys came up to him. Giving them another indecipherable look, Kuro ducked his head and walked away.

Uchi and Shin watched him for a moment before Uchi asked in a confused voice, “Why is he…”

_Here? Hanging out with those guys (they looked familiar, and not a good familiar)? Not talking to us?_

Shin had no answer for any of his friend’s unasked questions. He shook his head and walked to catch up the rest of their group, who hadn’t noticed Shin’s brief stop.

That night, Shin brooded more than he had for a long while. The last he heard about Kurosaki after the ‘incident’ was that he was staying with a cousin in a town an hour or so away. Seeing Kuro brought back a lot of memories. He and Uchi had been Shin’s first friends at Shirokin.

_Most people stayed away from the strange new transfer kid who had gotten kicked out of his old school for assaulting (kicking? Biting? Head-butting? Killing? The rumors were rather imaginative) a teacher. Shin, newly angry at his parents, the world, and friends (Riku’s betrayal had hurt more than he thought), preferred being left alone. But after the first week of being there, two kids with dyed hair sat themselves down at his table during lunch._

_“Hey, did you really get kicked out for punching a teacher?” Asked the orange-haired one._

_Shin met his gaze coldly, but when neither kid looked away, he nodded once._

_“Sweet!” Declared the blonde. “About time someone did.”_

_“Yeah,” agreed the other. “Teachers are awful.” The note of anger in his voice was almost welcoming, and encouraged Shin to speak his first words at this new school._

_“The worst.” The boys recognized bitterness when they heard it._

_“Welcome to the club,” the orange one said. “I’m Kurosaki Yuji, and the ugly one is Uchiyama Haruhiko.”_

_“Call me Uchi,” the blonde offered, before tackling Kurosaki to the ground. “Oi! Who you calling ugly, stupid?”_

Other memories Shin had were brief snippets; napping on the roof, running from Washio-sensei (that one time they had to run while carrying him, then dumping Shin on the ground as soon as they were safe), piling three people on a bike, stealing meat from their hotpot, ditching school so they could nap on the grass. Shin sighed. It felt so long ago. Kuro had been forced to quit a few months before Minami and Kuma left Abe’s gang, so they didn’t even know him.

Shin ran his hand through his hair distractedly. Seeing Kurosaki again… He shook his head to clear it. He didn’t know why Kurosaki was here, but it wouldn’t do any good to worry about it until something actually happened.

He spent the next day mainly on the school roof, since (for some reason) none of the other Shirokin students wanted to join the male cheerleading group, and so all of 3-D (except for Shin), became the school’s cheerleaders. Yankumi, being Yankumi, spent all of homeroom teaching them chants and movements, and moved math to the gym to practice their cheers. And since he was not part of the cheerleading group, nor did he want to see them fail spectacularly, Shin escaped to the roof. He was still asleep when the boys found him, woke him, and informed him happily that they were coming over to his place. Too sleepy to mount a proper defense, Shin soon found himself at his apartment, surrounded by imposing guests and fast food. On the way over, they told him all about how good they were at cheering, how the Head Teacher had unexpectedly given them lessons on how to shout from their diaphragms, and how many dates they were going to get at their college cheerleader party.

Trying to ignore the commotion around him, he picked up a book (the one he had been reading when Yankumi had come over. Not that he paid attention to these things), and started to read. However, his friends’ conversations were rather loud.

“It’s nice living alone.” Noda observed. “You’re free to do what you want.” To prove his point, he finished off the bag of chips on the table.

So they wouldn’t think living alone was that easy, he told them, “There’s a lot you have to do, too.”

“Like taking out the garbage?” Uchi suggested, then sat up in alarm. “Is tomorrow recycling day?” He asked Noda worriedly. Shin guessed that was his main chore at home.

Noda shrugged, “I dunno.”

“Do girls come over here?” Minami dove straight the part of independent living he was interested in.

“Huh?” What kind of playboy did Minami think he was?

Kuma answered for him. “Shin doesn’t have a girl to invite here.”

Shin was about to respond when the image of a dorky teacher grinning like an idiot flashed through his mind.

_“Here I am!”_

“A quasi-woman came once,” he remarked almost to himself.

“Eh?” Suddenly all four boys leaned in as far as they could.

“What do you mean by that?” Kuma nearly shouted.

“Are you hiding something?” Demanded Minami.

“Spit it out!” Uchi cried.

“What’s she like?” Noda wanted to know.

“What’s she like?” Shin repeated, overwhelmed with his friends’ sudden interest.

“Ah, I get it! I get it!” Kuma chimed in. “Your mom and sister, right?”

They all looked at Shin, filled with hope that female family members had visited him and that he wasn’t secretly having parties with hot girls all the time. He mentally rolled his eyes at his friends. As Yankumi was considered along the lines of a family member rather than a hot girl ( _according to your friends, anyway_ , his damned voice piped up), he glanced away and murmured, “That’s about it.”

As everyone breathed a sigh of relief and went back to lounging around, Shin couldn’t shake that small bit of guilt that he felt whenever he told a lie. Which was weird, since he didn’t actually lie. Right?

“I told you, Shin doesn’t have a girlfriend.” Kuma said loudly as he returned to playing darts.

 _Well, **that’s** true anyway_ , and Shin was surprised to feel a tug of wistfulness at the thought.

“Hey,” Uchi interrupted his thoughts softly, “About Kurosaki…”

Shin sighed. He didn’t have any more answers now than he did last night.

“I wonder why he’s wandering around the school now.” Uchi thought aloud.

“Don’t know.” He shrugged, then added, “Those guys that were with him looked like Ara High dropouts.” He and Minami had a hard enough time with the Ara kids that were still in school. He didn’t like the idea of Kurosaki hanging out with the kids that got kicked out.

“Eh?” Uchi was worried, “Which makes them… damn nasty.”

“I hope nothing happens,” Shin said, but had a bad feeling about it all the same. The boys finally left an hour or so later, and allowed Shin to fall into a restless sleep.

He woke up annoyingly early the next morning, despite the late night, and met up with the guys. Friendly greetings at the gate turned into shouts and stares as the Volleyball National Competition banner had been ripped, torn, and spray painted to change ‘Competition’ to ‘Costume Contest’. As the rest of the students gaped at the damage, Uchi gave Shin a significant look.

It was Kurosaki. Something had happened. What were they supposed to do?

Shin took a breath, then nodded for Uchi to follow him. They walked out of the school gates, and Shin opened his phone. He hoped Kuro had kept the same number, and would answer it when he saw Shin calling.

It rang once, twice, then stopped.

“Shin?”

“We need to talk to you.” Shin said quickly. When silence reigned, he added, “Kuro.”

“Warehouse 23, by the river. Don’t waste my time.” Then the line went dead.

Shin glanced at Uchi. “Let’s go.”

They arrived at the warehouse and were escorted to a couch in the middle of the concrete floor by a dozen of the Ara High dropouts. Sitting across from them was Kurosaki, looking leaner, hardened, more bitter than before.

“What business do you have with me? Unlike you guys, we’re busy,” Kurosaki drawled carelessly.

Shin spoke as nonchalantly as Kurosaki did. “About the banner for the volleyball team… Did you do it?”

Kurosaki’s silence answered his question better than words could.

“So, it was you?” Uchi confirmed.

“And what if it was me?” Kurosaki asked, leaning forward. “Going to the national competition?” He snorted derisively. “Don’t make me laugh. The way they cut out a student to boost the reputation of the school… I can never forget what they did.”

Shin gave him a long look. “What are you thinking?”

Kurosaki raised an eyebrow. “Can’t you tell?” He grinned. “I’m gonna ruin their chance to participate in the Nationals. Seeing Iwamoto’s pathetic face might cheer me up a little.” Standing, he turned to the boys behind him. “Let’s go, guys.”

Uchi grabbed at his arm, but Kurosaki twisted out of reach and shouted, “That _teacher_ – I’ll never forgive him!”

Shin held Uchi back as Kurosaki spat, “You lame students wouldn’t understand how I feel. I’m different from you guys now.”

As Kurosaki and the rest of the thugs walked away, Shin couldn’t help but silently respond, _We’re different too._

They stood in the empty warehouse for a few minutes before Uchi turned to him and asked, “What now?”

Shin sighed. They needed to tell somebody – someone who would listen, would understand, would help. Back when he knew Kurosaki, he had no one that fit that description. But he did now.

“Come on. Let’s go tell Yankumi.” Uchi started to protest, then thought better of it. If anyone was going to help, it would be her.

They got to school a few minutes before the day ended, but 3-D’s classroom was empty. Shin left Uchi to brood in the room as he went looking for Yankumi. He saw her saying goodbye to Mr. Detective-san (who was dressed normally) and his partner (who was not – in fact, it looked almost like the shorter cop had joined their ridiculous male cheerleading team). She kept waving at the car long after it had driven away, much to Shin’s annoyance.

He interrupted her muttering about the good luck to think of recording them, but the bad luck that Kashiwagi-san wanted to help. Shin couldn’t make any sense of it, and since she didn’t notice him walk up behind her, he tapped her shoulder and ducked under her instinctual swing.

“Sawada!” She shouted in surprise. “Don’t sneak up on people like that.”

Shin reminded himself that there wasn’t time to point out he hadn’t been sneaking, and so just jerked his head back at the school. “Come on,” he said softly, then walked towards the classroom. Yankumi stopped chiding him and followed, picking up on the fact that this was important. _And that’s why we trust you_ , he told her silently.

When they reached the classroom, Yankumi saw Uchi there, glanced at Shin, then asked where he had been. Rather than get bogged down with details, Shin cut to the chase. “We know who destroyed the banner.”

Yankumi looked at them both in surprise. “Who?”

Shin slid his gaze over to Uchi, who took a moment, then said, “Kurosaki Yuji.”

“He used to be a student here,” Shin clarified. “He was on the volleyball team last year, and can’t stand that they’ve made it to the Nationals this year. He says he has to take revenge on Shirokin.”

“Revenge?” Yankumi repeated. “Why does he have to do such a thing?”

He took a breath, then told her, “Kurosaki was forced to drop out of school.”

His teacher narrowed her eyes at him. “Eh?”

“Last year, when the volleyball team was winning in the regional tournament… he got involved in a violent incident.” Uchi spoke softly to the wall. “The opponent was hospitalized with a broken collarbone.”

Shin picked up the story. “Ordinarily, he would’ve gotten off with a suspension. But to protect the team from being disqualified, Iwamoto made him quit school.”

“What in the world?” Yankumi asked, the injustice of it all angering her.

“That way, even if someone were to attack the school, the school could simply say, ‘He’s not our student’.” Shin glanced at her from under his brows. He wanted her to see why they were bitter towards teachers, why no student trusted her initially… and what a miracle she had achieved by becoming someone they respected.

They turned as Uchi punched his desk in anger. “Damn Iwamoto! He cut Kurosaki off without giving him a chance to explain. That was dirty!” He shouted, frustration rolling off of him. Kurosaki had been provoked – a student from another school was taking trash talk to a whole new level, and Kurosaki let his temper get the best of him.

“Uchi,” Yankumi called his name gently. “As you said, the way the school handled it was problematic. But it was Kurosaki that caused the incident, wasn’t it?”

He took a few breaths to calm himself, then sat down on his desk again. Shin stared at him a moment before deciding to translate reticent Uchi-speech for her.

“Uchi’s worried about Kurosaki.” Shin explained

There was a sad grin on Uchi’s face as he said, “The three of us were good buddies. He’s quick to fight… but he’s not a terrible guy.” Yankumi mirrored his soft smile.

“He might do something serious enough to involve the police.” Shin revealed their main fear. “We can’t leave him alone.” _You taught us that._

“You guys are that worried about him?” Yankumi asked, touched by their concern.

Shin shifted in his seat. “If it weren’t for that incident, Kurosaki would be in 3-D with us right now.” _He’d have been part of our misadventures. He’d have met you._ Shin looked at her out of the corner of his eye. _He’d have liked you_.

“When it was decided that he would quit school… we couldn’t do anything.” Uchi shared with her a taste of how helpless they had felt. “We wanna do something this time.”

Shin gazed at his homeroom teacher _. He’s asking you for help, Yankumi. We want to help him. We couldn’t help then, but we can now, because of you._

Yankumi took a few moments to come up with the best response.

“I see. I understand how you feel.” And they believed her. “At any rate, if he’s intent on ruining Shirokin’s participation in the tournament, we’d have to do something.”

“Kurosaki may be thinking of doing something to Iwamoto.” Shin told her the indication he got after listening to Kurosaki’s rant. When Yankumi looked at him in confusion, he continued, “The one he holds the strongest grudge against is that teacher.”

Determination flooded her eyes. “Let’s go.” She told them, and all three left the classroom at a run. They saw Kurosaki cutting Iwamoto off through the path of construction around the bridge.

“You two go that way,” Yankumi pointed, and the boys nodded. They could hear Kurosaki and Iwamoto talking as they approached.

“…ruined my future. How’re you going to take responsibility?” Kurosaki asked in a falsely friendly tone.

“Now wait just a sec…” Iwamoto started before Kurosaki slammed him up against the chain link fence.

“Don’t justify yourself now!” He shouted in anger. Shin was about to break into a run and pull the boy off of the teacher when he saw a diminutive figure tap Kurosaki’s shoulder. When Kurosaki turned to look, his cheek got poked by a smiling Yankumi.

She giggled, and he twitched her hand off his shoulder and out of his face. “Who are you?” He demanded.

Shin took that moment to answer for her. “She’s our homeroom teacher.” Not only was he acknowledging her as their teacher (which he never would have done a year ago), he was claiming her as _theirs_ ( _You mean yours?_ The damned voice was back again, but Shin didn’t have the time), and was trying to show Kuro how different this teacher was from most.

Kurosaki glanced back at them as Uchi greeted him. “Yo.”

“Teacher?” He repeated in an incredulous voice. He looked at Yankumi again in confusion, then stepped towards the boys. “You guys hanging around a teacher?”

“Kurosaki,” Yankumi interrupted him. As he turned to face her, she smiled and quoted something like an old proverb. Or maybe a fortune cookie. “Keep using your energy pointlessly, and you’ll age really quickly.”

Annoyed, Kurosaki decided to show her who was boss. He grabbed the collar of her jacket, just as he had done with Iwamoto. But unlike the P.E. teacher, Yankumi showed no signs of fear at all.

“Are you kidding me?” He asked threateningly, but was unsettled by the fact that Yankumi simply smiled. Placing her hands on her hips, she continued talking as if a high schooler wasn’t trying to lift her up by her jacket.

“Since Iwamoto-sensei is also here, if you have something to say, we’ll listen to you.” She explained sweetly, which rather unnerved the taller boy. Also, he had no idea what to do since she kept grinning at him like they were best friends. He finally pushed her away.

“It’s none of your business,” he said shortly, then pushed through Shin and Uchi. Once Kurosaki had left, all three turned their eyes on Iwamoto, who suddenly looked extremely nervous.

“Iwamoto-sensei.” Yankumi began, “I think we should talk about what happened with Kurosaki-kun. Sawada’s place is close by, let’s go there.”

The older teacher nodded nervously, then asked, “Wait, how do you know where he lives?”

Before Yankumi could say anything stupid, Shin chimed in, “It’s school record. Look it up sometime.” Yankumi owed him two favors now. One because she had volunteered his place without asking, and two because he had covered for her. Again.

The four of them arrived at Shin’s place after a few minutes, and while they were getting settled, Shin noticed that Iwamoto had sat on one side of the table, and everyone else had gathered on the opposite side. He bet Iwamoto noticed it too.

“Now, Iwamoto-sensei,” Yankumi spoke with all the formality of a court hearing. “Why exactly was Kurosaki-kun expelled last year?”

“It was the only way to protect the school’s honor.” Iwamoto dove right in to the justification.

“The school’s honor?” Shin repeated in disbelief. Shirokin had honor? They were already a bottom-ranked school, it wasn’t like one suspended student was going to hurt it that much.

“Yes, well, I thought expulsion was harsh, but…” Iwamoto was amending his statement when Yankumi interrupted.

“There was no way to protect him?” She asked earnestly. The other teacher looked startled at this question. _See Yankumi? Normal teachers don’t think about protecting students._

“I mean…” She struggled to find the right words. “You may have been the only one that could have protected him.”

“It was impossible. Against the board of directors and the PTA, what could I have done by myself?” His voice sped up and grew more irritated as he spoke.

“But if you had at least tried, he may have thought that there was someone that cared enough about him to do something.”

Iwamoto looked ashamed and uncomfortable. He obviously never considered what his actions told Kurosaki, or that he had acted like he didn’t care.

“Let’s go apologize to him,” Yankumi suggested seriously. All three started at her. Iwamoto regarded her with shock, Uchi glanced at her in surprise, and Shin gazed at her with… gratification. The fact that she wanted a teacher to apologize to a student for a past wrong in all sincerity just proved how right he was to trust her. Respect her. And maybe even…

“If you sincerely apologize and talk to him, he’ll be sure to come around. You regret what you did, right?” Yankumi continued to explain her thought process to Iwamoto, scattering Shin’s thoughts. “The sooner you apologize, the better.” She stood up. “Sawada, tell me where he is.”

Shin (now thoroughly distracted from his earlier train of thought) looked at her and nearly asked, _What am I, his personal GPS?_

“Wait a minute,” Iwamoto stood up as well. “He’s not the type to accept an apology.” He told her. “It’s pointless to apologize now.”

Uchi, who had little tolerance for dismissive teachers anymore, got to his feet with a growl. “Watch how you talk, you little -”

Shin grabbed his arm before he did something stupid. Uchi stood, glaring at Iwamoto, trying to find some way to show him how wrong his self-focused way of thinking was.

Yankumi did it for him. “Is it pointless unless he accepts it?” Iwamoto turned to her, wondering what she meant.

“Whether you are a teacher, a police officer, an adult, or a child… when you make a mistake, I believe you should apologize. Isn’t it a teacher’s job to demonstrate that _?” It doesn’t matter if it’s accepted or not. It’s your job to apologize, to set an example, to live rightly._

“I… I can’t be as passionate as you are.” He told her after a moment, blinking away tears of shame. And as Yankumi stared at him with disappointment and the two boys behind her glared with anger, Iwamoto fled.  After a few moments, Yankumi turned and looked at her students. They both gazed at her with a mixture of helplessness, discouragement, and frustration.

She mustered up a smile for them. “Don’t worry,” she promised. “We’ll find a way to help him.” Gathering her things, she smiled again, then headed out. Uchi exchanged a worried look with Shin, then he too, started for home.

The next day, Shin opted to watch Uchi lead the team rather than be left on the roof with his own thoughts. As he observed them move in semi-synchronization, he had to admit that they looked almost good.

“They look like a real cheerleading team!” Fujiyama commented to the nurse happily as they both went to congratulate Uchi.

Shin raised an eyebrow at them. “They’re real, anyways.” He commented. While they may have come a long way from the disorganized mess they were before, Shin had a feeling that actual cheerleading teams didn’t need to be tricked into cheering.

“You’ve really improved in a short period of time,” Kawashima congratulated the boys.

“Well, if we get serious, this is what we can do.” Uchi told the women proudly, and the rest of the team grinned their agreement.

“I really commend your efforts, even if it’s for meeting college cheerleaders.” The nurse said with an amused look.

The guys grinned with a bit of embarrassment, but then Kuma added, “Well, it was for that to begin with, but…”

Uchi motioned to the volleyball team practicing in the other half of the gym. “Looking at them, we’ve really come to want to cheer them on. For the 3-D guys, this will be their last tournament. It’d be bad for them to have regrets.”

Noda nodded. “Exactly. We’re doing it for their sake.”

“That’s really well said,” Then nurse complimented the boys again.

But their moment of pride was short-lived, for just then, Maeda and Senzoku arrived covered in bandages.

“Hey, what happened to you guys?” Uchi asked in concern.

Maeda spoke, “We ran into Kurosaki downtown yesterday. He was yelling that he’d ruin the team’s chance in the national tournament.”

As his classmates talked among themselves, Shin looked over and saw that Iwamoto was gone. He nudged Uchi and pointed out the teacher’s absence. They both snuck out of the group, and Uchi ditched his long coat so they could run faster. Even still, when they got outside, Iwamoto sped past them on his bike, looking grim and determined.

Shin and Uchi took a breath, then starting running, Uchi cursing the idiotic teacher as they ran. Shin knew they couldn’t keep up with him on his bike, but he knew a short cut that should put them at the warehouse at the same time. Iwamoto must have pedaled for his life, because by the time Shin and Uchi arrived, the teacher was already there, getting beat up by his former student.

“Kurosaki!” Shin shouted, and Uchi tried to pull him off of Iwamoto.

“Get out of my way!” He yelled, but Shin shoved him away from the unconscious teacher. Kurosaki glared at him in confusion.

“Didn’t you have more of a grudge against adults than anyone else? ‘Teachers are the worst’. You used to say that to me all the time, remember? When did you become the school’s dog?” Kurosaki spat out the words, and Shin knew he’d never believe him if he told him about Yankumi. But he had to try something.

“Kurosaki,” Shin took a step forward, then froze as the rest of the Ara High Dropout Gang gathered behind his friend.

“Hey, is there trouble? It’s about time to go.” One of them called out.

Uchi looked at Kurosaki. “Where are you going?”

The orange haired boy took a breath, then said in a soft voice, “We’re raiding Shirokin. “ He sounded almost regretful, like he didn’t want to.

“Don’t.” Shin tried to warn him. “You wanna be arrested?”

“Don’t go,” Uchi added.

“It’s none of your business,” the other boy said, and tried to push past them. Shin and Uchi both grabbed his arms, intending to help their friend no matter what. Even when the other gang members shoved them away and started laying into them, Shin and Uchi kept shouting warnings to Kurosaki, who stood still and watched with an unreadable expression.

Suddenly, from the other end of the warehouse, a steely voice rang out. “Get your hands off those guys!”

Everyone stopped and looked towards the entrance, where a lone figure was walking steadily towards them. As Shin put his hand on a bruised rib, he thought to himself, _You know Shin, you’re making it a habit to get rescued by a knight in a shining white tracksuit. You should probably stop that._

“Who are you?” The Ara leader demanded.

“Me? I’m their homeroom teacher.” And Shin’s addled brain added a long _Duh_ at the end of her sentence as the corner of his mouth twitched up. Turns out he didn’t need to tell Kurosaki about Yankumi. The kid could see for himself.

Her gaze pierced through the group of thugs and flew straight to Kurosaki. “It’s time that you realized who really cares about you.” She spoke as if the dozen other guys weren’t there at all. “Because they care about you, both Uchiyama and Sawada came here, risking themselves, didn’t they?”

“Shut up!” Kurosaki responded ineffectively.

“Iwamoto-sensei too. He came because he wanted to apologize, knowing that he would be beaten up. Looking at a guy like you…infuriates me!” And she started moving towards Kurosaki, treating the various hooligans that came after her like mere flies.

After a kick to the knee and a quick sucker punch, two of the gang members lay on the ground and Yankumi kept advancing. “Everyone has different issues, but they go on with a positive attitude.” She paused to give a sweeping kick and a hit to the face of two more guys. “But you’ve remained negative.”

She dodged a couple blows, then landed another guy with a knee to his stomach. As she continued forward, the rest of the guys started to move backward, then all cowered behind Kurosaki, knowing that he was the one she wanted.

Kurosaki tried to hide his panic at this fearless woman marching at him, then shouted “Damn you!” and tried a weak swing at her face. She caught his hand easily, used his momentum against him, and shoved his shoulder down into the ground. He got up again, but she ducked under his arm for a nice elbow to the stomach, and pushed him back to the concrete floor. Kurosaki’s ‘friends’ at this point decided to flee, hoping that this mad woman would take him and leave the rest of them alone.

Shin sat up with a look of pride on his face. _See Kurosaki? **She’s** why I don’t hate teachers anymore._

Uchi grinned, and both boys noticed Iwamoto finally regain consciousness, holding his head.

“Those are what you call friends? A pathetic bunch.” Yankumi observed.

“You guys can’t understand how I feel.” He glanced accusingly at Shin, Uchi, and Iwamoto. “Those teachers ruined my future!” He shouted at Yankumi, who took a moment, then stepped forward and slapped him loudly.

“Don’t keep yapping about what’s been done!” Her voice was full of yakuza strength. “If you got the time to make excuses and blame others… why don’t you look forward and change your future?”

Kurosaki stared at this strange woman, startled by what she was saying. “Adults may play dirty sometimes. I understand your grudge against teachers, too. But the grounds for expulsion were partially yours, weren’t they? Isn’t it unfair to blame others for everything? No one has smooth sailing all the time. If you aren’t able to overcome a setback by yourself… a little tumble and your life is over.”

She sighed, then looked earnestly at him. “What are you doing, stuck in the same place? You still have a long way to go. You gotta open up your own future by yourself.” Yankumi tilted her head, then asked softly, “You have what it takes to do that, don’t you?”

The boy paused, then sat back, trying to process all that she had said. Iwamoto, who had been watching the scene intently, took this moment to walk over and kneel next to Kurosaki. Shin and Uchi got to their feet and joined him as well.

“Kurosaki,” Iwamoto said in a choked voice. “I’m sorry.”

And as he wondered how to react to this unexpected overdue apology, Uchi called his name, “Kuro”, and smiled at him. _Things have changed at this school._

Shin, who had no words to say, reached out his hand to place it over Kurosaki’s. Uchi added his hand, and Kurosaki suddenly started sniffing loudly.

“Shin, Uchi,” He said, then chuckled. “Isn’t she an interesting character?” And both boys knew what that really meant, and how hard it was for him to say it. “If I had encountered a teacher like that… I may have gotten away with not quitting school.” Shin and Uchi grinned with pride. Kurosaki had admitted there were good teachers out there, and only because he had faced theirs.

Iwamoto heard it as the rebuke it was, and Yankumi heard it as the compliment it was meant to be. Her own eyes filling with tears, Yankumi knelt on the ground as well, then joined her hand with theirs. Kurosaki looked up and saw her smile earnestly, affectionately, then ventured a tiny smile of his own in return.

As Yankumi was giving advice to Iwamoto about how to properly ice the lovely bump on his head, Kuro stood with Shin and Uchi, trying to make sense of what had happened. Uchi was telling him all the stories involving Yankumi he could think of, with Shin adding a bit of careful clarification now and again.

“You should have seen it Kuro, she took down, like twenty guys on her own, and then gave this huge talk on how being a man meant protecting something, and then shamed the guys so much that they turned themselves in! Oh, and the first day, Kuma threw a baseball at her, and she caught it without looking! And then, when they were trying to expel Kuma for some shit about stealing a bag, she brought it back and marched onstage and swore that she was going to make sure we’d all graduate together.”

Kuro looked at Uchi like he was crazy.

“If it was anyone else, I wouldn’t believe them.” Shin said, glancing over at his teacher, who looked like she was currently demonstrating how to patch up a knife wound. “But somehow, with her…” He shrugged.

Kuro and Uchi also turned to look at the two teachers.

“So,” Uchi asked. “What’re you going to do now?”

After a moment, Kuro answered, “I think I’ll go back to live with my cousin. He knows some guys who own a construction company, so I might try that.” His friends nodded encouragingly.

Kurosaki watched as Yankumi helped Iwamoto towards his bike. “Hey,” he told them, staring at the ground. Then he straightened. “Tell Iwamoto I said good luck at the tournament.”

Shin and Uchi nodded with smiles, then watched their friend walk away. And this time, when they saw him leave, they felt confident that things had turned out for the best.

A few days passed, and it was time for the volleyball tournament. Before the team got on their bus, Uchi led the 3-D cheerleading team like a true captain, and, all things considered, they performed rather well.

Shin passed on Kurosaki’s wishes to Iwamoto, who in turn, offered to help in his job search anyway he could. As Shin agreed to let Kurosaki know, he couldn’t help but smirk a little at the fact that not only did Yankumi inspire students, but she also helped improve teachers.

When the Principal gave the team his blessing and sent them off to their bus, Iwamoto bowed to him, then met Yankumi’s gaze and mouthed _Thank you_. She nodded, and Uchi led the cheerleaders in a final yell of encouragement.

The trouble started when Yankumi responded to Fujiyama and Kawashima’s comments that it was all very touching and moving.

“Isn’t it though? To be honest, I had no idea that they would actually go this far.” She nodded in a satisfied manner.

“We may actually be naturals at this,” Noda added, and the boys agreed that this meant they were all athletically gifted.

“If I had known, I wouldn’t have had to play dirty to begin with,” Yankumi remarked to herself. Loudly. “It was a lot of trouble to get a hold of those.”

“Play dirty?” Kuma repeated. Shin decided to take pity on his classmates.

“She means those college cheerleaders.” He told them, and though it should have been obvious, all of 3-D stared at Yankumi and shouted, “Huh?”

“Yankumi… you… was that a lie?” Only a few words could be picked out from the dark muttering as they advanced on their teacher. Everyone behind her quickly got out of the way.

“But, you just said you were naturals…” She tried to appease the angry mob with little success.

“That’s a totally different story!” Uchi shouted.

“Calm down, okay? Let’s have everyone calm down,” Yankumi motioned, then turned and ran away.

As the school staff looked worriedly out at the field, Shin shook his head and smiled. “It’s about time you guys learned,” was all he said. But after a minute, his smile was replaced with panic as he saw Yankumi coming towards them, followed by a pack of angry male cheerleaders.

She dove into the crowd of teachers, and somehow wiggled herself through until she was next to Shin. They took off running together, and Shin realized that they were both laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. And somehow, sprinting next to Yankumi as they tried to escape his dateless peers, Shin thought he had never felt happier.


	10. An Odd Omiai

**Chapter 10!!!**

**The omiai episode! This was always one of my favorites.**

**So, an omiai (or miai) is basically a date made by a matchmaker. It’s almost like a blind date, but people have one for the specific purpose of getting married. An omiai can be done through an agency, or through friends, relatives, or parents (or your boss’s pushy wife). It’s very traditional, and was used for arranged marriages, but has softened over time.**

**‘Kumicho’ means Boss, and is really only used in the yakuza. Normal teachers do not have it as a nickname.**

* * *

 

Shin liked to think he was a rational guy. He, unlike most (if not all) of his classmates, considered the consequences _before_ he acted. He made it a point to not waste his energy on something unless he deemed it necessary. He considered it a point of pride that he was not a slave to the hormones that made Minami and Noda act like complete morons any time a vaguely attractive girl was around (the willingness to become male cheerleaders in order to meet college girls proved the complete idiocy of the rest of 3-D as well) . He had built his entire reputation on being thoughtful, quiet, and logical, which is why when he did take action, everyone around him respected it.

Which is why he found Yankumi so infuriating. She kept putting him in completely irrational positions. Like, for example, putting up, (or worse) going along with her insane ideas. He found himself interacting with her much more than anyone else simply because she needed a voice of reason to let her know when she was being a _baka_ or giving away her yakuza origins or coming up with an absurd plan. (There may have been other reasons as well, but he firmly avoided considering them).

He realized that he had unwillingly developed a talent for being able to sense her mood and thus, predict her actions. Now, he had been able to get a read on most everyone around him fairly easily for most of his life, but comprehending Yankumi required an entirely different set of skills. One had to take into account her mobster background, her genuine cluelessness, her incredible naïveté, and her propensity for latching on to hopeless causes. It was exhausting.

Taking advantage of Yankumi’s presence at the staff meeting, Shin buried himself in a book while the rest of his classmates talked amongst themselves. The relative peace was broken when Noda checked his phone and shouted his news to the room.

“Alright! We’re having a party with a group of girls!” As every guy (besides Shin) leapt out of their seats and started making plans for charming these girls, Shin rolled his eyes at the lot of them. _They’re like a group of testosterone-fueled baboons_ , he thought, and muffled a smile as they continued to hoot and scream and jump around.

“Sorry, sorry, you guys,” Noda apologized insincerely, halting the widespread jubilation. “There are only four girls. So! It’ll be me, the organizer, Uchi, Kuma, and Shin.” Groans of disappointment echoed throughout the classroom, and Shin glanced up from his book with a raised eyebrow. If Noda thought he was coming to a party with random girls, he had another think coming.

Amidst the shouts of protest, Noda muttered to himself, “It’s a good thing that Minami is absent.”

He obviously had a vision of what Minami would say if he heard about a new opportunity to hit on girls. Noda shuddered, then focused on the problem at hand.

“But why this group?” One of the excluded guys implored.

Noda slid over to explain his choices. “Uchi is to liven up the party.”

Slicking back his hair, Uchi smiled and declared in a sleazy tone, “Let me pump it up for you.”

Crouching next to Shin, Noda expounded, “Shin is for looks.”

“I pass.” Shin refused, still reading his book. He had no interest in going to this pointless party.

Noda pouted and shook his shoulders, obviously unconvinced. “No way! Your presence makes a big difference!”

Shin only had time to give Noda a disparaging look before another classmate demanded to know why Kuma was invited.

The bear-like boy grinned proudly until Noda stated that he was for comedic relief. Kuma looked at Noda with a mix of confusion and offense, but was interrupted from doing anything when Yankumi suddenly appeared in front of the two boys.

“Hmm, I see…” She nodded to herself and walked to the back of the classroom in a bit of a daze. “You do think through things, don’t you?”

Shin peered at her from over his book. She was in her own little world, which could prove dangerous to everyone.

Noda grinned nervously and tried to make sure she knew it was a secret. “Well, yeah, but…shhhh.” He whispered conspiratorially.

“I know, I know,” she rejoined with a smile. “Parties are good.” Holding up what looked like a cactus, she spoke dreamily. “Love begins with a meeting.”

As the rest of the class gathered around in curiosity at this new side of Yankumi, Shin grew suspicious. Why the hell would she associate a cactus with love?

“Oh, Yankumi, you understand, don’t you?” Kuma praised her in surprise.

Uchi took a slightly more realistic stance. “It’s unusual for you to sound so good.”

She swung around with her cactus, passing dangerously close to the surrounding students. “Life without love is like yakuza movies without Takakura Ken, you know.” She told them wisely as they all leaned back out of danger. Her ending pose put the cactus right in front of Shin, who suddenly noticed that it had a pink bow on it.

“What are you holding?” He asked her, trying to see if there were any other clues near the prickly plant. Completely ignoring him, Yankumi marched back to the group of students, who scrambled out of the way of her living weapon.

“Alright, everyone. Let’s fall in love!” And as the rest of the love-crazy class joined her in punching the air and shouting “Oh!”, Shin shook his head at them all.

“Stupid.” He muttered, then grinned as he imagined Yankumi as an incredibly energetic baboon, leading the rest of the monkeys cluelessly into the jungle.

The day passed with Yankumi lost in daydreams and the boys either complaining or giving advice to the ‘lucky’ few going to the party. Shin alternated between reading his book and wondering what that stupid cactus meant and why Yankumi was so happy about it. He was very aware that she was only ever this obliviously happy when Mr. Handsome Detective-san was involved somehow. The fact that the cactus was wrapped with a pink bow did not escape his notice either. The combination of these things put him in a rather sour mood the rest of the day.

Shin went home with every intention of staying in and brooding the whole night, but when his three friends appeared on his doorstep and pushed themselves into his apartment, he cursed himself for ever letting them know where he lived.

The only reason they had gotten in was because of the temporary shock he went into when he saw their outfits. Kuma was wearing a pink polo shirt (Shin was convinced Kuma had never worn anything pink in his entire life), Noda was wearing an orange cardigan over a dress shirt, and Uchi was wearing a collared shirt over one of his usual tees, but his hair was parted, combed, and _curled_. The boys spent a good half hour trying to convince Shin to wear something ‘cooler’, but they soon gave up. Forcefully pushing Shin out the door, they then headed to a strange restaurant and requested a table for eight. As the waitress went to set up their table, Shin stared openly at his friends as they each pulled out a pair of glasses and put them on.

He started to ask what they were doing, then realized that he really didn’t care. Ten minutes went by, and soon Shin found himself at a table with three ridiculous looking friends and four strange girls. Noda and Uchi leaned forward with compliments while Kuma simply ogled. When Shin sighed and looked away, Kuma broke his trance to tell him to smile, and demonstrated how to do it. Noda looked down the table and coughed significantly at them.

Turning to the gathered girls with a smile, Noda spoke with almost forced happiness. “Well then, how about introductions first?”

Shin glanced over incredulously as this caused everyone to clap and shriek “Yay!!”

“What’s ‘yay’ about it?” He muttered to himself. This was just another reason why he had no interest in high school girls. What intelligent person shouts ‘yay’ at introducing themselves?

Then things got even weirder.

“Eisho Gakuen 3rd year, Uchiyama Haruhiko. Call me Uchi! Nice to meet you!” Uchi smiled and adjusted his fake glasses.

Shin leaned down the table as the girls squealed and cheered some more. “What’s Eisho?” He asked quizzically.

Instantly, Kuma pushed him back in his chair and shook his head frantically.

Noda spoke quietly through clenched teeth. “Calm down, Shin-chan.”

Kuma added in a stage whisper, “Yeah. If we say Shirokin, no one will party with us.”

Great. Now they were lying to the squeaky girls. “What’s wrong with you guys?” Shin grumbled as he looked away. He spent most of the evening making mental lists. _List one: Why My Friends Are Idiots. List two: Why High School Girls Are Annoying. List three: Things I Would Rather Be Doing._

He had just added ‘getting my teeth cleaned’ to the third list when Noda told the lamest joke he had ever heard. “…and then I said, ‘What am I, a tree?’ Get it? I can’t ‘leave’ because I’m not a tree!”

Shin groaned at how awful the pun was, and then groaned again as the rest of the table burst into laughter.

“That is so funny!” One of the girls (he hadn’t bothered to remember their names) said between giggles.

“I didn’t know there were such fun people at Eisho!” Another girl commented as the boys soaked it up.

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Noda wiggled his eyebrows as Kuma and Uchi grinned widely.

Shin then added ‘they tell horrible jokes’ to his first list and ‘they laugh at any and everything’ to his second.

“Let’s go to the beach next time!” Uchi suggested. More squeals. All Shin could think was that there was no way in hell he was coming to the ‘next time’. “A beach is…” Uchi started a profound statement, then froze.

Shin looked up to see what had caused this reprieve from Uchi pretending to be poetic. He smirked for the first time that evening and nudged Kuma.

There, at the entrance to the dining area, was Minami. He looked near death, wore a hospital mask, and was leaning on a classmate for support, but that didn’t stop the fire blazing from his eyes.

“You guys,” he coughed. “Why’re you partying without me?”

Noda looked simultaneously afraid and lost. “Minami…why?”

Shin’s smirk grew as the rest of 3-D came out of the woodwork. “We thought you guys might be partying here.” Oishi said smugly.

The girls all looked hesitantly at his friends. “Who are these guys?” One asked with wide eyes.

Noda had just enough time to shake his head and fib, “Don’t know.” before Minami answered her question truthfully.

“Their classmates!” He declared maliciously. The girls slowly turned towards Minami’s group, and saw them do a choreographed dance and chant, “We are from Shirokin Gakuin 3-D!”

Shrinking back from the deceivers, the girls all whispered “Shirokin?” in terrified tones. Noda, Uchi, and Kuma all hung their heads in shame while Shin enjoyed himself for the first time that night. Before the guys could make up any more lies, the girls threw down their napkins, grabbed their purses, and ran out shrieking. This caused the management to bring out the check, ensure the boys paid, then kick them out.

They all walked dejectedly towards the bus station, but apparently his friends were too gloomy to make it, and collapsed against a nearby railing. Shin rolled his eyes and went to consult the bus schedule. As he approached, he could have sworn he heard the familiar voice of his teacher. He looked around, then shook his head as no pigtails were to be seen. _Now you’re having visions of her?_ His brain poked at him in glee. _You must be thinking of her a lot. I wonder why…_

Before he could come up with a proper defense, he heard her voice again. He knew he wasn’t making this up, because her voice was coming from the ground and saying things like, “It’s not right to do this, Kumiko. But I can’t help it!”

He peered around a barrier and saw her crouched down by a pillar, looking very distressed. He watched her stand up decisively and headed towards the station, then stop suddenly. Shin followed her gaze and saw Mr. Handsome Detective-san himself, walking along without any idea that he was being stalked by a crazy teacher armed with a cactus. Suddenly, he turned and greeted a woman (presumably just off a bus), who smiled and took his arm. They both strolled off looking very happy, unaware that their meeting had the opposite effect of the woman behind them.

Staring with wide eyes, Yankumi whispered to herself in shock, “Is she, by chance, his… girlfriend?” The last word sounded a bit strangled.

Shin had no idea if Mr. Handsome Detective-san and Ms. Tall Pretty Woman were dating, but the way she clung to him certainly implied they were close. Trying to modulate his voice so as not to sound incredibly relieved or happy, (his internal voice had a field day with _those_ instinctual reactions), Shin glanced at the couple and judged, “Probably.”

“Eh?” She continued in a desperate tone, then gaped in shock when she saw Shin was standing next to her. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. For being able to sneak up on everyone, she really didn’t have much spatial awareness at all.

“H- Hey, what are you doing here?” She managed to get out, but Shin ignored her.

“Hmm…” He thought aloud, reminding himself firmly not to grin, since he didn’t want Yankumi to think that he was enjoying her misfortune. Even if he was. “Detectives are pretty popular, aren’t they?” He observed with a bit of dry humor.

Successfully distracted from wondering why Shin was out near a bus station (he didn’t feel like telling her about the horrendous failed group date), Yankumi looked back at her departing crush. “You – you think that’s really his girlfriend?” She asked in a wavering voice.

Shin stifled another grin and was about to answer when he noticed she was clutching her cactus tightly.

“Still holding that?” He asked curiously.

Yankumi looked at her prickly plant and pouted. “Was he possibly talking about a wedding with that woman?” She asked it softly, making Shin (and his annoying internal voice) immeasurably gleeful. Coming to an affirmative answer, she dramatically threw herself towards the railing where the rest of his heartbroken friends were wallowing in depression.

“It’s a significant change, alright,” She accused her cactus sarcastically.

Uchi joined her despondently, “Things don’t always go the way you want.”

The rest of the melancholy crew moped in agreement. “So true.”

In contrast to the gloomy group, Shin felt like skipping down the street, was working overtime to contain his smile. He got himself under control, then gently herded the listless assembly onto their respective buses. As he ushered Yankumi towards her bus, her doleful comments to her spiny plant amused him immensely.

“Never should have believed that damn horoscope. Superb love life, my ass! The only progress was backward! Curse you, Kumiko, for giving me false hope! Never again!” Shin simultaneously realized her happy mood earlier must have come from a horoscope (people believed those?) predicting luck in love, and wondered why she had named the cactus after herself.

The next day arrived, and Shin took a perverse pleasure in how moody his friends still were. While Noda and Minami were arguing about whose fault it was for causing the girls to run off, the class got an interesting piece of news from the teacher’s lounge. Secrets at Shirokin were about as well kept as sand in a sieve, and any interesting information immediately got passed on to the rest of the school.

“Yankumi has an omiai!” The student who stood guard outside the lounge (there was an informal rotation) poked his head in during lunch and shouted the news before running off to tell the others.

This resulted in a moment of silence, followed by uproarious laughter and a variety of comments. An omiai was so old-fashioned! Poor Yankumi couldn’t get a guy any other way! Maybe she’ll finally find someone as dorky as she was! This must be her biological clock ticking!

The rest of the students prepared to congratulate their teacher by decorating the blackboard with hearts and dorky glasses, and pulling out streamers from one of the lockers. Throughout the commotion, Shin sat very still in the back, good mood suddenly gone. Was she that desperate to find someone? Did this have something to do with the yakuza? They seemed like they would still do omiais. Maybe someone else set it up for her and pressured her into it. That sounded much more likely than the rest of the reasons he came up with. Right?

By the time Yankumi walked in the door, everyone was armed with horns, streamers, poppers, and confetti, and used them to their full potential. Yankumi took refuge from the attack behind the door at first, then cautiously poked her head out.

“What?” She asked nervously, then saw the blackboard declaring “Congrats on your omiai Yankumi! Yeah! Love!”. Shin watched her reactions closely, trying to find out which of his guesses were right.

“Hey, how do you guys know about that?” She asked, and Shin detected a bit of embarrassment as the boys told her that basically everyone knew.

“You know, Yankumi is pretty amazing.” Kuma thought out loud.

“Yeah, right.” Noda smiled as he answered. “A talk of omiai the day after she lost in love.”

Yankumi flung herself at the blackboard in shame, which brought back a little of Shin’s amusement. She probably got forced into it after mentioning her disastrous night. That seemed way more like Yankumi than setting up an omiai for herself at 23. Yup. That was probably it.

Minami coughed, and spoke in a wise voice, “Well, it takes a man to heal a wound inflicted by a man, they say.”

Shin couldn’t help a bit of a grin. “In her case, it might the opposite effect.”

“If she’s rejected, she’d be so deeply wounded,” Uchi joined in the teasing.

Shouts of “Poor Yankumi!” and “So sad!” echoed around the classroom as the guys imagined Yankumi getting dumped.

“Damn it, you guys too?!” She shouted at them, hinting that they were not the first to think she’d be rejected.

 _Uh oh,_ Shin thought as he saw her fist clench and heard the yakuza creep into her voice.

“I gotta prove myself as a woman!” She told the blackboard strongly, then turned to face the class. “Alright,” she challenged them, “If that’s the case, why don’t I go to the omiai and reject **_him_** instead?!” And just to prove her point, she stuck out her tongue at them.

No one, including their teacher, paid attention during math class. Yankumi kept muttering things like, “Dull? Plain? I’m awesome! I’ll show them!” up at her desk, and the boys discussed the likelihood of her success.

“Heh, the guy might run away as soon as he sees her.” Noda guessed, and Minami nodded.

“I wonder if she’ll wear a kimono?” Everyone looked at Uchi with raised eyebrows. “What?” He asked defensively. “It’s traditional for an omiai. Everyone knows that.”

Shin wanted to keep an eye on this omiai, just in case, but knew if he suggested going, all his friends would know something was up. Not that there was anything to be up to. But still.

So, he implanted the idea and waited for someone else to bring it to fruition. “I bet she’ll look really funny.” He mentioned casually.

Kuma chortled in agreement. “Yeah. She’ll probably wear like, way too much make up.”

“Or maybe try to walk in a dress and high heels,” Uchi added.

“The guy she’s meeting with probably be really geeky.” Minami grinned.

_Five, four, three, two…_

“Hey! We should go spy on her!” Noda suggested suddenly. The boys all jumped on the idea with enthusiasm, then turned to Shin.

“Shin, you gonna come?” Uchi asked.

Heaving a loud sigh, Shin shrugged. “I guess. Might as well.”

They scouted out where the omiai was being held, and made plans to get there early and pick a good hiding spot. The omiai was planned for 5 pm at a large dining and shopping center downtown. The boys took the time to buy some newspapers (apparently they were spies from the seventies, Shin thought, and got a magazine instead), and Kuma (of course) targeted the ice cream shop. They found a table partially hidden by a convenient screen, sat back, and waited.

When Shin saw the Vice Principal and a woman who henpecked him like a wife, he felt much better. Knowing Head Teacher and Yankumi, and from what he could tell about Head Teacher’s wife, Yankumi had definitely been pressured into this.

Yankumi’s ‘date’ arrived, and Shin scrutinized him carefully. He was short, dorky, and probably rich. He looked… boring. Yankumi was full of life and energy no matter what she did, so he had a feeling that this was not going to go well. Plus, his hair was floppy and his eyes were wide apart and…

“Sorry for being late!” A voice rang out across the center.

Before he could find any more flaws (he was sure there were many), Shin looked towards the entrance and felt his mouth drop open. There, rushing toward the table, was Yankumi wearing the most formal kimono he had ever seen. And it was _black_. Normal kimonos were pink and blue with birds or butterflies or something girly like that. Shin had never seen a yakuza kimono, but he was willing to bet that’s what she was wearing. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, with a carefully arranged amount peeking out the side. She was wearing just the right amount of make-up and she looked…

 _Weird_. Shin told himself. _She looks weird._

Head Teacher apparently agreed, because he got up and quickly pulled her aside with some angry sounding whispers. He was interrupted from scolding her further when his wife coughed pointedly at them.

“Yamaguchi-sensei, this is Mr. Ijuin Toshihiko, a Japanese language teacher at Eisho High School,” Mrs. Head Teacher introduced the dorky man in a calm, ladylike manner. He stood up and bowed, and Shin reluctantly took back his ‘short’ comment. _He’s still geeky_ , he rejoined, but it didn’t help that much.

“Nice to meet you, too. I’m Yamaguchi Kumiko.” Yankumi said with a smile.

“Ah! You two look great together!” Mrs. Head Teacher spoke like a true matchmaker.

Before either of the “great couple” could reply, an incredibly loud “Delicious!” came from Shin’s left. The boys glared at Kuma, then quickly ducked behind their newspapers as Yankumi looked around suspiciously.

“Why don’t we sit down?” Mrs. Head Teacher suggested, and Yankumi scanned the area once more before joining them. “Mr. Ijuin is the director of placement, even at this young age…” The matchmaker continued without missing a beat.

The 3-D students slowly lowered their newspapers and magazine, and Uchi whacked Kuma upside the head without looking.

“You moron! Don’t yell out like that.” Uchi chastised the larger boy.

“Sorry. This sundae is just so good.” Kuma apologized, then went back to his dessert.

Noda, who was still keeping his eye on the omiai, commented thoughtfully, “But that guy… he’s pretty good-looking.”

“Yeah,” Uchi nodded his agreement, looking over at the group. “He’s too good-looking for Yankumi.”

 Shin didn’t agree. _He’s not good-looking. I mean, I suppose he’s alright to look at, but he doesn’t fit Yankumi at all. Not because he’s more attractive than her, or something ridiculous like that, but because he’s not… just because._

His eyes narrowed as he glared at this strange man who shouldn’t even be here, but then his gaze fell on Yankumi. Unconsciously, his eyes softened, and he felt the corners of his mouth twitch up, just a little. She _would_ come to an omiai dressed in a yakuza battle kimono. He breathed a small chuckle. It suited her.

“Yamaguchi-sensei’s students call her ‘Yankumi’.” Mrs. Head Teacher told the dorky guy with a smile. “She’s very popular!”

Mr. Head Teacher inserted some disparaging comment and got a swift kick in the shin from his wife.

“What a cute nickname.” Her ‘date’ said with no emotion at all. “Have you had it for a long time?”

Yankumi smiled and replied without thinking, “No, the students gave it to me. The only other nickname I had was Kumicho.”

“Kumicho?” The others at the table repeated in confusion. Shin sat up in concern. Revealing her secret in front of the Vice Principal and his wife would be more than disastrous.

Realizing this herself, Yankumi sped to come up with a reasonable explanation. “No, um… Kumi… chan! It was Kumi-chan.” She grinned nervously as no one looked like they bought her story.

Shin sighed and turned away. “I can’t watch this,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. Yankumi had a hard enough time keeping her secret when interacting with incredibly dense high schoolers. She was failing even more than usual in front of two strangers and the Vice Principal. It was like she was _trying_ to give him a heart attack.

He looked back to see a small boy slip and fall while shooting a toy gun. Yankumi immediately rushed over and brushed the kid off.

“Are you alright, little boy? Let’s be quiet in a place like this, okay?” She told him in her pretending-to-be-normal voice.

The kid stood up and shot a couple of pellets at her. “Shut up, old hag!”

 _Oh shit_ , was all Shin had time to think.

“Old hag!? What a spoiled rotten damn brat!” She shouted in return, yakuza written all over her features.

Everyone in the entire shopping center stopped and stared at this crazy lady in a scary kimono. The boys nearly jumped out of their seats, and Shin had a sudden vision of Yankumi pulling a katana out of her kimono and challenging the kid to a duel.

Yankumi finally caught on to the fact that she was the center of everyone’s flabbergasted attention. She laughed weakly and patted the boy on the head.

“What a nice cute boy you are!” She tried to repair the damage she had done, but the little boy took off running and shouting for his mother.

Turning hesitantly back to the table, she saw that the rest of the omiai group was gaping at her as well. Yankumi smiled uncertainly, then made her way back to her seat.

“I’m sorry about my language,” she apologized. “An influence from my men-only family.”

“Men-only family? I thought you were living alone?” Head Teacher asked suspiciously.

“Oh yes. That was it.” Yankumi nodded unhelpfully.

Head Teacher furrowed his brow. “What do you mean ‘that was it’?”

“I mean… yes, that’s right.”

Shin sighed and shifted in his seat in agitation. She _was_ trying to give him a heart attack. After a few minutes, Mr. and Mrs. Head Teacher left to “give the young people some time alone”. Shin snorted. That guy wasn’t young. He must be in his thirties or something. Aha! He’s too old for Yankumi! Another flaw!

He looked up just in time to see her try and explain the tv show, “The Wife of the Yakuza” as something else that sounded normal. As the guy looked confused, Yankumi winced at how awful her excuse sounded and glanced to the side. It was then that she saw the group of boys. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in shock while Uchi, Kuma, and Noda gave her signs of encouragement. Shin shifted a little, then watched her reaction, trying to see what she felt by seeing hi-, _them,_ there. When all he picked up was the normal clueless Yankumi anger, he suppressed a twinge of disappointment. He wasn’t sure what he was hoping to get from her, but it was more than just irritation and embarrassment.

Her omiai only went downhill from there. She distractedly asked and answered questions in between glaring at her unwanted audience, who only grinned back to annoy her further. Finally, they said their goodbyes, and the boys fled before she decided to come kill them. When she headed out the door, Shin stopped and gave her one last appraising look. She seemed exhausted and annoyed, with no sign that she took this dorky teacher guy seriously. Feeling much better, Shin decided to not give Mr. Weird Omiai Guy another thought.

His decision lasted until the next day at school. He was trying to finish his book when the two students on eavesdropping duty ran into 3-D.

“There’s been a development!” One shouted.

“Yankumi’s omiai succeeds!” The other finished.

Shin immediately looked up as a seed of panic started to grow. She had agreed to date that pretentious bore of a human being? Why?

The rest of 3-D was also analyzing this new information.

“Seriously?”

“No way! He’s just a guy with eccentric tastes, isn’t he?” Noda asked the rest of the class and received a loud chorus of laughter. Shin glanced over and noticed Kuma looking thoughtful and dejected. Noda noticed as well and commented, “What’s wrong, Kuma? What’s the glum face for?”

When Kuma didn’t answer, Uchi ran over and started poking and teasing him. “Chubby, are you by any chance in love with…?”

“No! That’s not it.” Kuma shoved them off roughly and moved over to the window. “I just thought… if she gets married, she might quit school.”

The entire class went silent as Kuma’s words hit them. Shin felt a sudden camaraderie as Kuma and the rest struggled with the same question he had months ago when he first found out about Yankumi’s family. Noda, who disliked serious silence, tried to lighten the mood.

“Quitting work when you’re married isn’t the style nowadays.” He assured the class (and himself). Everyone quickly jumped on this idea and agreed loudly.

“But you know…” Kuma interrupted them forcefully, then continued in a subdued tone. “…she has a one-track way of thinking sometimes.”

Shin felt the ghost of a grin as he heartily agreed with Kuma’s assessment. As silence once more fell over the classroom, Shin realized how much Yankumi meant to all of them. For Kuma to consider the future, to know how she thought about things, for Noda to come up with reasons for her to keep teaching, for the whole class to worry about her leaving them, Yankumi must mean a hell of a lot to everyone.

They were all pensive as they walked home, though Shin was more focused on why she had accepted stupid Mr. Omiai’s offer to date rather than if she would leave them if she got married. He wanted to make sure it never got that far, for reasons he was unwilling to discuss at that time.

“It won’t matter to us if Yankumi quits, will it?” Uchi asked them as they walked by a video game store. Minami and Noda agreed, then asked Shin what he thought. He shrugged to give himself time to come up with an answer, and was about to reply when a student wearing a vaguely familiar uniform rushed past them. Before Minami could ask what his problem was, they heard shouting from behind them. They turned and saw a man grabbing Uchi’s arm and trying to drag him away. Shin came closer and asked what had happened.

The man looked even angrier and accused, “So, you had accomplices?” When the boys looked at each other in confusion, the guy’s eyes widened. “Ah, you’re Shirokin students, aren’t you? No wonder!”

At this, the atmosphere changed from puzzlement to anger, and Shin could see fists clenching and jaws tightening.

“Come on!” The guy demanded and pulled at Uchi again.

“It was lying here!” Uchi protested, and Shin noticed he held a video game in his hand.

Kuma chimed in. “A guy bumped into me and dropped it.”

Shin looked down the way where the kid had gone. “The guy that ran away was an Eisho student,” Shin said, remembering what the uniform was.

“That guy, yeah. Catch him.” Noda told the manager, pointing down the road.

“Doesn’t matter. You guys, come with me.” The man said, and started yanking Uchi away roughly. Uchi jerked out of his grasp, and Shin saw him tense up a moment too late.

“Uchi don’t!” He shouted, but Uchi’s fist had already made impact. As the manager fell to the ground, Shin swore silently. He started swearing out loud when they heard sirens, then bit his tongue when he saw Shinohara-san and his partner step out of the car. They took the manager’s statement, then talked to the boys. Finally, they called the Vice Principal and drove the boys back to the school.

Head Teacher was both angry and delighted to learn that 3-D students were in trouble, and called Yankumi to let her know that her students had been caught shop-lifting. Kuma started to protest, but Shin stopped him. No point in saying anything until Yankumi got here.

She arrived in record time, and asked what in the world had happened.

Head Teacher informed her that 3-D had done it again, (although he was vague on what ‘it’ was), and Shinohara-san, as annoyingly perfect as usual, told her that it was unclear whether the boys were involved in the shop-lifting or not. Kashiwagi-san added that the manager wasn’t pressing charges.

“We’re lucky the manager was so understanding. He’s dropping the shop-lifting and Uchiyama’s assault.” Head Teacher continued in a patronizing tone.

“What? You make it sound like we’re responsible!” Kuma shouted in anger.

“Uchiyama,” Yankumi asked, ignoring Kuma’s outrage, “did you hit the manager?”

Uchi muttered a soft “Yeah.”

“Why did you do it?”

“Because he assumed that we were the culprits when we were innocent.” Uchi told the ceiling quietly.

Shin watched as Yankumi took a breath and tried to come up with the right words to say. “Did your hitting help convince him of your innocence? Hitting doesn’t help the matter, does it?” She told them loudly, then got herself under control. “You guys didn’t shoplift, did you?”

Uchi met her gaze. “Are you doubting us?”

“Yes or no!?” She demanded.

“No, we didn’t!” Uchi told her.

“We were just passing by the store.” Noda added quickly.

Shin spoke softly and took a few steps towards her. “The stolen video game, the guy that bumped into Kuma dropped it. Uchi just picked it up.” He kept his eyes firmly on the far wall, not trusting himself to look at her since she had a new stupid boyfriend now.

The Head Teacher and his minion accused them of lying (no surprise there), and when Kuma shouted again, Noda held him back and Uchi interrupted him.

“Kuma, that’s enough. I’m tired of denying it. If they don’t believe us, fine.”

“I believe them,” Yankumi’s voice was small, but strong. Everyone turned to look at her, the boys with hope, the men with confusion. Shin glanced at her and saw how different she was from the nervous woman trying to hide who she was yesterday. She looked certain, determined, decided.

“There you go again! ‘I believe them, I believe them’,” Head Teacher mocked her.

“They aren’t the type to lie.” Yankumi marched up and told him firmly while her students watched.

“Oh what grounds? Nothing, right?”

“The ground… the ground is in the time I’ve spent with them the past three months.” She spoke passionately, and even Shin turned to look at her. She met his eyes directly, and despite how he felt about anything else, he saw in her eyes the resolute purpose she had whenever she defended her students. The strength of will. The vow that she would never abandon them. He quickly looked away, not willing to forgive her quite yet. Finally, after more discussion, the boys were allowed to go home.

He slept uneasily that night, with dreams of Head Teacher accusing him, and then arguing with Yankumi when she appeared and claimed to believe him.

“I believe them, I believe them,” the Head Teacher mimicked her voice sarcastically. “Why? What have they ever done for you? Nothing! They only cause you trouble! And look at him! He can’t even tell you how he –”

Shin awoke with a start, breathing heavily, then shook his head to clear the remnants of the dream away. He sat up and took some time to consider the events of the past few days and the past few months. A noticeable pattern emerged. Every time they had done something wrong, she had taken the first steps in fixing it. She had led the way for them, taught them how to act, how to carry themselves. Shin looked up with a firm decision. It was time for them to take the initiative, to step up, and settle their own business.

He called the rest of the guys and had them meet him by his apartment.

“What’s up?” Minami asked curiously.

Shin took a breath. “We’re heading to Eisho.”

“Sweet! Let’s go teach that brat a lesson!” Kuma declared.

“No.” Shin told him firmly. “We are not going to hit or touch anyone while we’re there.” He glanced around at the gathered group. “Got that?”

Unaccustomed to the authority in his voice, the boys nodded in surprise.

“Then why are we going?” Noda inquired with a touch of confusion.

“Because Yankumi’s going to go.” Everyone turned to Minami, who was looking at Shin with a hint of a smile. “Right?”

Shin nodded, wondering if Minami wasn’t as dense as he seemed. “She’ll barge in alone and cause problems again if we don’t get there first. And the way Head Teacher is…” He pushed the memory of his dream away and shrugged. “We can’t let her get fired because of us.”

Aware that this was one of the longest speeches Shin had made, Uchi grinned and said, “Alright. Let’s beat Yankumi there.”

Decided, the boys headed towards Eisho High School. The school day was about to start and students were milling around the expensive-looking courtyard. When they saw the five scary-looking teenagers coming down the stairs, a few of the kids ran immediately to tell their teachers. Within minutes, ten adults had rushed out like their school was under attack. Shin rolled his eyes. Apparently five boys with colored hair were considered a major threat.

Shin’s eyes narrowed. There, in the middle of the threatening teachers, was Mr. Dorky Omiai Date himself. He bit his tongue to stop himself from listing all the reasons why this boring looking teacher (he looked boring even when he was angry) was all wrong for Yankumi.

“You kids, leave now! You’re trespassing on private property and we will call the authorities.” He barked at them.

“We’re here to talk to one of the students that shop-lifted last night and blamed it on us.” Uchi told him as calmly as he could manage.

The teachers looked at each other incredulously. Shin knew that none of them believed such a scary-looking group, but that had never stopped Yankumi from trying.

“He stole a video game last night from a store downtown. He had a black satchel and brown hair, and we have someone who can identify him on sight.” Shin explained, trying not to glare too hard at his teacher’s totally unsuitable ‘match’.

Then the jerk _laughed_ at him. “You think we’re going to let near any of our students? Get out of here.”

Shin grit his teeth and stood his ground. When none of the boys moved, the jerk shouted again, “You boys, go back! Do you think this is acceptable? Our student shop-lifted and is blaming it on you? That’s impossible! Now leave!”

Reminding himself not to punch anyone (even if they were worthless human beings), Shin stepped forward. “Until the shop-lifter shows himself, we won’t go back.”

“That’s right,” Kuma agreed, then bellowed to the crowd of onlooking students. “Hey! Guy that bumped into me! Come out here!”

Mr. Jerk Teacher glared angrily at them. “If you don’t back off, we’ll call the police,” he threatened.

Uchi’s eyes flared. “You son of a…” Shin held him back before he did anything rash.

“You guys! What are you doing?!” Came a welcome voice from behind them. Shin fought off a grin as he turned and saw his homeroom teacher running towards them. Just as he had predicted.

“Yamaguchi-sensei,” her ‘date’ spoke in a shocked tone. “Are these your students?” His anger returned as he stared at the boys behind her. “What they’re saying is all nonsense.”

“What?” Uchi growled, and took a few steps forward.

“Stop it, Uchiyama.” Yankumi commanded, and Shin was pleased to notice that the jerk had a flash of fear when Uchi started towards him and relief when Yankumi called him off.

“Yamaguchi-sensei. Hurry up and take them away please.” He spoke as if the students were pieces of trash left on his spotless floor, then caught Uchi’s glare and looked appropriately nervous.

Stepping in front of Uchi and the rest of them, Yankumi met the teacher’s gaze calmly. “Please bring the boy here that framed my student.” She requested politely, but firmly. From the look on the man’s face, Shin could tell that was the last thing he expected Yankumi to say.

He blinked a few times, then attempted a laugh. “What are you saying, Yamaguchi-sensei? It’s your students who are trying to falsely accuse mine.”

Yankumi looked at the ground and nodded. “I understand.” Shin glanced at her sharply. “Let me meet all of your students.” She spoke as if this was a completely reasonable request. The other teacher, however, stared at her as if she had asked him to jump to the moon.

“My students are being wrongly accused of something they didn’t do. I will not put up with that.” There was no mistaking the iron will in her voice.

“Yamaguchi-sensei, you’re too naïve. Blindly believing such students.” He scoffed at them, barely hiding a sneer.

“Is the reason you’re suspicious of them because they’re Shirokin students who are scary looking, who don’t know how to talk nicely, and don’t do well academically?” Yankumi kept her voice even as she stared down the man across from her. “You say your students don’t shop-lift. Is that because they’re ‘elites’ who excel academically?”

Sensing he was being accused of something, Mr. Eisho Teacher answered somewhat defensively, “So what if that’s the case?”

“It’s not that you believe your students. What you believe is the prestige of the school and your pride.” Yankumi’s voice rose with contempt and she almost added a sneer of her own. “You only get to see the inside of people when you drop all your pretense and just hang out with them.” Shin could see her reverting back to her yakuza roots as she lectured the other teachers. “The outside and the inside aren’t the same, are they? What do you know about a person from looks or title alone? You can’t see what’s inside.”

She ignored the man’s growing outrage and started proving her point. “Do you know just by looking, that this guy would endure anything for his sister?” She motioned at Shin, who gazed at her oddly, touched at her description.

Yankumi looked at Uchi, and embarrassed him by saying, “Can you tell that this guy takes really good care of his mother?”

She glanced at all of them, then stated resolutely, “Can you tell that all these guys have kind hearts and compassion for others?” The guys stared at her. No one had ever called them kind or compassionate before. Especially not a teacher.

Turning to look at them, she mustered a thoughtful smile. “At first, I didn’t know that myself. But after spending a lot of time with them, I began to see that my students are kind-hearted people who understand duty and compassion.” She spoke with such affection, such pride, that even these complete strangers couldn’t doubt her. And Shin realized that she didn’t judge people by their looks or wealth, but how they related to others. How he loved his sister, and how Uchi took care of his mother, and how they all looked after one another. That’s why she gave them chances that no one else did.

He had carefully stared at a far pillar, knowing that his brain would probably react weirdly if he watched her for too long, but she moved into his eyeline with such confidence and surety that he couldn’t help but look at her.

“I believe in these guys… my students.” And the way she claimed them made the boys proud of that title.

“You won’t make it as a teacher being so idealistic, thinking that you should spend so much time with each student.” Mr. Jerk Teacher sounded almost offended. Luckily, Shinohara-san and Kashiwagi-san drove up at that moment and helped Shin successfully resist the temptation of punching him in the mouth.

“What good timing!” The jerk remarked as the detectives walked up. “Could you take these trespassers away?”

Shinohara interrupted him with a hint of smugness. “When we checked the surveillance tape yesterday, we identified a high school student from this school.” Kashiwagi pulled out a picture of the student and everyone gathered around it.

By Mr. Pretentious Teacher’s face, the kid was indeed an Eisho student. Kuma vehemently declared that _that_ was the guy who ran into him. The surrounding crowd all turned to look at the now-silent teacher.

“This is your student, isn’t it?” Shinohara asked with a raised eyebrow. The man, who had apparently lost the power of speech, managed a tiny nod. “I’d like to talk to him.” The detective requested authoritatively, and followed him toward the guilty student.

As they watched the onlookers melt away, Shin heard Yankumi sigh irritably, then mutter, “You guys went off by yourself, didn’t you?”

Uchi explained matter-of-factly, “We didn’t come here to hit anyone. We came to settle the matter.”

“If so, why didn’t you say something to me?” She sounded slightly put out at not being invited.

“You also came on your own, didn’t you?” Shin interrupted her scolding.

Surprised at this, she tried to think of a reasonable excuse. “What? No. I came as a teacher…”

“Just as Shin predicted.” Minami said with a broad grin, wiggling his eyebrows. Shin shot him a look.

“Eh?” Yankumi asked, confused.

“You might barge in alone and cause a problem again, he said.” Kuma informed her cheekily.

Noda jumped on the ‘let’s tell Yankumi what Shin said about her’ train. “We can’t let her get fired on our account. Right, Shin?” He too had a mischievous smile.

As Yankumi turned to look at him in surprise, Shin made sure he was carefully examining the architecture of the school and _not_ meeting her gaze and having bizarre thoughts.

She blinked and said in a touched voice, “Sawada…”

It was now his turn to think of a reasonable excuse. “We should settle our business by ourselves, right?” He murmured softly, keeping his eyes strictly on the school fence. _See Yankumi? We’ve learned from you. You’re helping._

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her blinking rapidly and biting her lip. “You guys… you, you, rugrat you!” And having no other deep thoughts to convey, she ruffled his hair vigorously. As she attacked his hair with a beaming smile, he found himself grinning in response.

“Alright you guys. Let’s go back.” She declared, and led the way. Shin tried to straighten his hair half-heartedly (he found he didn’t really mind when Yankumi mussed it), then stopped when Yankumi suddenly changed direction.

“Oh, I forgot,” She said to herself, then walked back towards the school.

“Mr. Ijuin!” She called. Shin tensed, uncertain of what she was going to say. The shamed teacher turned around, along with the detectives standing next to him. “Earlier, you said that with my method I won’t make it as a teacher. But I will stay with my students til the end. So, I can say with pride that I am a Shirokin teacher. The teacher of these students.”

And the students she spoke of couldn’t help but smile with pride and admiration for their teacher. Especially since she had clearly chosen _them_ over him.

The walk back to school was triumphant and jubilant. Uchi literally bounced with happiness, and kept bumping into Shin for fun. Shin finally gave in and shoved Uchi back, starting an impromptu game of tag. As Uchi raced ahead, Shin saw Minami lean in to talk to Yankumi.

“Shin sure knows you well.” Minami remarked with a poorly hidden smirk.

Trying to ignore his classmate, but wanting to hear Yankumi’s response, Shin gave Uchi a ten second head start.

“I suppose he does,” Yankumi agreed thoughtfully, and suddenly Shin felt like he could race Uchi to the moon and back. _Today is a good day._

The following morning, the boys met up with their classmates before school to explain what had happened and what Yankumi had done. As they walked towards school, Shin looked up and saw Yankumi talking to Shinohara, looking mournful. He realized she was probably still depressed from the night when he had met that beautiful woman. He also remembered Yankumi muttering something about weddings.

Before he could enjoy the fact that Shinohara was out of the picture, he heard Yankumi shout, “Sister? That was your sister?” and then look incredibly happy.

 _Damn it. So close_.

The rest of the boys were now watching as well. Yankumi marched in front of the detective and declared, “Shinohara-san, I am a happy woman!”

Unable to resist such a glowing opportunity, the students of 3-D teased their teacher with whistles and cat calls, and Kuma shouted loudly, “Yankumi, don’t make me jealous!” (Shin ignored the jab Minami gave him). As she turned around slowly, Shin looked at her with a sigh of resignation. She was back to crushing on Mr. Handsome Detective-san. Things were back to normal, for better or worse.

“You guys, what are you looking at?” She demanded weakly, trying not to look embarrassed. Fujiyama-sensei and the nurse walked up as well and asked what was going on. The next thing Shin knew, she told Shinohara-san she was looking forward to dinner (damn him), and then ran towards her students at full speed.

“You guys! Run towards happiness with me!” Shin neatly sidestepped so she wouldn’t crash into him, then watched as his class of teenage boys joined their crazy teacher in running for no reason. Laughing a little, Shin thought fondly, _She’s crazy – but she’s our kind of crazy_ , and rushed to catch up with the smiling, happy group.


	11. Camera Crazy

**Chapter Eleven!! We’re getting close to the end! So exciting and so sad. =(**

**So, the moment I believe Shin is referring to as the ‘lowest point’ is back in episode 2, when Shin is about to get expelled and doesn’t think he has or wants any friends. Kuma’s the one who talks to him and brings him back. (I considered the moment when he let his parents’ place, but I think he’d feel too angry to consider it his lowest point. Anyway, that’s my two cents.)**

**Also, I got the names for the roll call from the Wiki listing for Gokusen. It has the full names of all the Gokusen characters, which is great for when they don’t mention names in the drama. Man, I love Wikipedia.**

**Well, no use staying up here! Read, enjoy, and let me know what you think!**  

* * *

 

Shin believed that there were two kinds of life-changing forces. One was like lightening, that struck suddenly, without warning, and forever impacted the course of your life. The other was like water, flowing softly, gently, subtly, until it had cut through rock and formed a new path before you realized it.

Yankumi was like water. She crashed into their lives, settled comfortably, then worked on smoothing out their edges by seeping through every crack. Also, you could never tell if she was going to be a calm pond or a thundering typhoon from day to day.

At the moment, she was a serene lake, happy that the only trouble 3-D caused was reading manga in class. She confiscated their comics and sailed away, humming to herself. Shin had learned to be suspicious of calm days, as it usually meant whatever was about to happen was going to be big.

He was right.

After school, Shin and his friends tried to head home, but a crepe cart was parked along their way, and Kuma immediately pleaded with them to wait for him to get some. Grumbling and mumbling, the boys stood near a tree and waited for the line to crawl along.

It was a good ten minutes before Kuma made it to the window to order, and by then everyone was impatient and irritated.

“How long is he gonna keep us waiting, for Christ’s sake.” Uchi drawled.

Minami complained, “It’s been fifteen minutes already!”

“His obsession with food is overwhelming.” Noda added.

Before the tirade could continue, Kuma ran up with no less than four packages of crepes. “Thanks for waiting!”

“It took too long, Fatty.” Uchi rebuked him, but the prospect of food made Kuma oblivious to insults from his friends.

“Sorry, sorry.” He apologized with a smile. “Well then, it’s time to eat-” But just before the first bite of crepe made it to his mouth, Kuma was suddenly accosted from behind, and all four crepes fell to the ground.

With an agonized cry, Kuma looked up from the fallen food to glare at the man who had bumped into him. Shin thought it was a little strange for the guy to be wearing both sunglasses and a hat, as well as clutching a black duffel bag as tight as he was.

“Watch where you’re going!” Kuma shouted at him. Shin’s suspicions grew as the man simply gaped at them, then tried to hurry off. His chubby friend was not content with a frightened look, and ran after this enemy of delicious snacks.

“Wait just a minute!” Kuma demanded, grabbing the man’s coat. The rest of the kids caught up to him and turned their own irritation from Kuma onto his attacker.

“How about an apology?” Uchi called out, striding towards them.

“How long do you think we had to wait?!” Noda asked angrily.

Kuma saw an opening. “Pay for them!” He yelled into the man’s ear. Shin, who was strolling along leisurely behind them (he wasn’t all that interested in what was happening), saw the small man snap and attack Kuma with his duffel bag. The boy retreated for a bit, then he too, went on the offensive.

Kuma shoved the man back a few times, and when he fell over, the boy decided to continue the fight on the ground. Never ones to miss a dogpile, the other 3-D students shouted war cries and jumped on top of the combatants.

When the man stopped twitching, Shin decided it was time to intervene, and attempted to get the boys’ attention.

“Stop that.” He told them, “What if the police come?”

And as if his words had summoned him, a policeman on a bike screeched to a halt.

“Hey, what are you boys doing?” The cop demanded.

Surprised by the unusual promptness of the local law enforcement, all Shin could say was, “The police are already here.”

“Get off him!” The cop said, parking his bike and pushing the boys off of the now unconscious man. “What do you kids think you’re doing? Public harassment is illegal you know, and with what you’ve done to this poor man I should have you all-” The policeman gestured to their victim, then stopped suddenly. “Wait a minute…” he muttered to himself, then pulled a ‘Wanted’ poster from his pocket.

The boys, curious as always, leaned in for a look at the paper. They all glanced from the picture to the figure on the ground and back.

“It’s…the same guy.” Shin said after a moment. The cop stared, then immediately called in for back-up. As more cops arrived (including Mr. Handsome Detective-san, to Shin’s annoyance), people started noticing, and reporters started arriving.

When the news vans rolled up, Shinohara-san suggested that they finish taking the boys’ statements  back at the school. The criminal was carried into a squad car, and the guys hitched a ride with Shinohara-san. A swarm of reporters and correspondents followed them to the school, thoroughly alarming the Vice Principal and the few teachers still here. Head Teacher called Yankumi with only the barest of details and while he was still under the impression that 3-D had somehow incurred the wrath of the entire police force.

Once he had hung up, Shinohara-san explained to Head Teacher that the boys had actually caught an extremely dangerous serial killer, who had robbed and murdered three people already and was carrying evidence of his crimes in the very bag used to assault Kuma.

Shin was highly amused to note that the Vice Principal could only blink and ask, “Are you sure?” for a good ten minutes after hearing the news that the 3-D students were considered heroes. The ‘heroes’ were basking in self-satisfaction in a corner while Shinohara explained for the fourth time to Head Teacher that the boys were not in trouble.

The door slid open with a bang to reveal Yankumi and the two other women looking extremely worried. Yankumi, being herself, raced in without any knowledge of the actual circumstances and threw herself onto her knees.

“Shinohara-san, I am truly sorry. But there must be a reason. They’re not as bad as people say they are.” Touched as he was that she would kneel down to defend them without a second thought, Shin tried to attract his teacher’s attention so she wouldn’t further embarrass herself. However, taking subtle hints had never been Yankumi’s strong point.

The gathered men looked at each other in confusion. “Well, no…” Shinohara started to say, and Washio tried to tell her to calm down.

“Listen to what they have to say without preconceived notions,” She begged them needlessly. It was only when Uchi called her name that she noticed the boys were waving at her with broad smiles.

“You guys!” She scolded them as she walked over. “What’s with the attitude?”

Noda looked at her and asked, “What’s the angry face for?” which only irritated her more.

“Don’t be sitting and relaxing when you’ve been apprehended by the police!”

 _Who’s the one with preconceived notions now?_ Shin thought wryly.

“We’ve been apprehended?” Noda looked at the rest of them with a joking smile.

“Yankumi, you’ve got it all wrong.” Kuma told her.

“Eh? I have it all wrong?” She repeated in a mixture of confusion and aggravation.

Shin sighed (why did he always have to explain?), and spoke, “We’re receiving honors.”

“Honors?”

“Your students have done a good deed.” Shinohara clarified.

“Eh? They haven’t caused any trouble, then?” She asked in shock.

_Well, gee, thanks for the show of faith, Yankumi._

“Not at all. They apprehended a wanted serial killer-robber.” The tall detective said, then his partner produced the wanted poster and the teachers all gathered around. After some commentary about how dangerous this guy was, Yankumi stood up with a wide smile.

“I see. You guys caught a big fish. Well done! You’re students of mine, indeed!” She declared proudly, eager to claim them now they had done something good.

Shin rolled his eyes and muttered, “It was purely on accident, though.”

“They are indeed the pride of the school!” Everyone turned slowly at the familiar voice. “3-D has come a long way. My continuing guidance has come to fruition!” Head Teacher shouted at the ceiling, then he and Washio congratulated themselves.

Shin had to hold back his friends and himself from saying or doing anything they’d regret. It was one thing for Yankumi to claim credit, as she put in a lot of thankless effort for them and deserved some recognition. Head Teacher had washed his hands of them long ago and, if anything, deserved the insults and punches the boys wanted to give him.

“The reporters are requesting a press conference with the students,” Shinohara-san informed the room, and the boys temporarily forgot their hate of Head Teacher at the lure of fame, punching the air in triumph.

The boys weren’t the only ones excited about being interviewed, Shin noticed. Every teacher, including ones Shin had never seen before, were fixing their hair and checking their smiles. Their smiles faded (and Shin’s grew) when Shinohara-san asked if Yankumi would take part as their homeroom teacher.

 _Serves the rest of the worthless adults right_ , he nodded smugly.

However, when Yankumi began to protest loudly and insincerely, he suddenly got a bad feeling about this.

“Me? Take part in the press conference? That’s impossible. Newspapers, TV, magazines. To make an appearance in public like that… no way!” She deferred with the scariest grin Shin had ever seen. Despite her apparent refusal, she dove for the center seat at the interview table, and adjusted the microphones so that they were all pointed at her.

“Why are you in the middle?” Shin asked as the interview was about to start.

Still wearing that ridiculous grin, she told him firmly, “Because I’m your teacher.”

Shin raised an eyebrow. His bad feeling about this was only getting worse.

“Owing to these five brave high school students, we were able to arrest the culprit.” Shinohara-san introduced them, and suddenly camera flashes came from every part of the room. Uchi and Kuma smiled and soaked it up, while Noda and Minami tried to fight off blindness.

“Which one is Kumai-kun, who was hit by the culprit?” A reporter asked, and Kuma leapt for his chance in the spotlight.

“Yo, das me!” He volunteered, then got whacked by Yankumi.

“Don’t say ‘yo’, say yes, be polite!” Their teacher hissed at him (in front of the microphones). “Please excuse him. The brat’s having stage fright.” She smiled at the reporters while Shin closed his eyes and sighed in exasperation.

 “The brat?” The reporter repeated.

Yankumi’s eyes went wide and she tried to recover. “B-b-boy! I meant ‘boy’. Right, Kumai-kun?”

The reporter was still staring. “Um, and you are…?” He asked.

“Oh yes. I am their homeroom teacher, Yamaguchi Kumiko.”

Shin knew that voice. He tried to suppress another sigh and thought, _Here we go_.

“I’m 23 years old. Incidentally, single. Nice to meet you all!”

Silence answered her as all the correspondents gaped at this crazy lady who sounded like she was way too enthusiastic and rather desperate for a date.

Shin decided he should try and help. “Yankumi, maybe you shouldn’t talk so much,” he leaned over and told her softly, hoping she would get the hint.

“If I don’t talk, I won’t be on TV, baka.” She responded through her teeth, then smiled at the crowd again.

 _She wouldn’t take a hint if it ran over her with a semi-truck_ , he grumbled silently and waited for the disaster to unfold.

“Kumai-kun, though you were hit by the culprit, you unflinchingly apprehended him. Not exactly something anyone can do. Do you have a strong sense of justice?” Another reporter picked up the line of questioning.

Kuma leaned into the mike to answer, but suddenly a pair of pigtails dove in front of him.

“Yes. I instruct them daily on how to intervene when they see trouble occurring.” Yankumi spoke without pausing and ended with the same plastered-on smile.

“Um,” the reporter tried to break the truth to her as well. “I’m not interested in hearing your story, but the students’…”

 _Maybe she’ll listen to a stranger_ , Shin hoped.

“Ah, the students’ stories! Yes, of course. I’ll tell you as much as you want.”

_Maybe not._

The rest of the boys, annoyed that she was hijacking their fifteen minutes of fame, glared at her as she stole the crowd’s attention.

“These guys may be a little problematic in terms of looks, but their hearts are in the right place, and they’re fantastic guys.” She grabbed the mike and stood up. Shin’s bad feeling grew exponentially. “Warm hearts that detest evil and don’t tolerate injustice. I, Yamaguchi Kumiko, am feeling the utmost joy and happiness about being a teacher to these students who are filled with such a sense of justice!”

As she finished, Shin wasn’t sure whether she was going to break into song or start crying. The cameras starting flashing again, and he realized that their heroic deed was now all going to be about her. He sighed. This could not end well.

“Thank you everyone! Thank you! 3-D shall never perish ever!” She declared passionately (and nonsensically, in Shin’s opinion), on the brink of dramatic tears.

The interview ended with the detectives handing the students a certificate of achievement and the reporters trying to get photos of just them. Yankumi, however, somehow managed to slide in front of her students at the last second for every single shot. The boys became more and more irritated as the night went on, and finally, after Yankumi’s hand had covered his face for a majority of the photos, Uchi asked Shin to go talk to her.

“Yeah, she’s ruining the pictures!” Minami complained, fixing his hair.

Shin shrugged. “Let her have her fun.” He told himself that he would normally go stop her, but he didn’t quite have the heart to ruin her good mood. After all, she did go through a lot of crap for them, and deserved some reward for it.

 _Developing a bit of a soft spot for her, hmmm? I wonder why…_ his inner voice teased, and Shin, now very accustomed to dealing with these sorts of comments, decidedly ignored it.

They got through the rest of the photos and interviews without too much trouble (besides Yankumi interrupting and occasionally using slang), and Shin was fairly certain that no one suspected her yakuza roots.

Exhausted from all the worrying and tolerating, Shin let himself sleep in a bit the next morning. As he walked through the school doors, he saw Kuma’s dad walking down the hallway carrying several containers. The man waved at Shin, who bowed in response, and wondered if Kuma had done something worth calling in his parent for. He headed towards the classroom, and saw that his classmates had brought in every paper that mentioned the story. The ones that weren’t in the pictures laughed at Yankumi’s upstaging, while those involved pouted and complained.

They all called ‘good morning’ to Shin as he walked in, and after responding, he asked Kuma if his dad had been called in.

“Called in?” The boy repeated in confusion. Apparently he didn’t know why either.

“I just saw your dad in the hallway,” Shin explained, then was surprised at the look of hostility that appeared in Kuma’s eyes. The large boy jumped up and ran out of the room, with his friends only a few moments behind him.

They followed the sound of one loud voice to the teacher’s lounge, and Kuma stormed in.

“Dad! What are you doing?” He demanded.

His father, ignoring the anger in his son’s voice, smiled and greeted him. “Oh! Terou!”

“Don’t bring stupid pot stickers here!” Kuma shouted, rushing towards the older man.

“Stupid pot stickers? Baka! You grew up so big eating my pot stickers.” His father responded with a rebuking shove.

“Don’t do such things! You look ridiculous!” Kuma yelled, shoving back.

“Is that any way to talk to your parent?” And the shouting match quickly devolved into a sumo wrestling match. Shin tried to pull his friend off as the rest of the teachers clutched their plates of pot stickers protectively, but only got pushed in the wall for his troubles. Yankumi herself was propelled backwards when she tried to tell them to calm down. Shin watched her stand up with a bloody nose and fire in her eyes and knew the chaos was going to end soon.

“I SAID **STOP**!” Her voice cut through the shouts and screams, and both father and son turned to stare at her with a touch of fear.

“Now,” she continued, taking a breath. “Let’s all just calm down. Kuma, go back to the classroom with your classmates please.” When she saw him open his mouth to refuse, the steel returned to her voice. “Right. Now.”

Glaring at her and his father, Kuma marched back to 3-D unhappily. It didn’t help that Noda and Uchi somehow managed to steal plates of pot stickers to bring back with them. Kuma spent the rest of the day simmering at his desk while everyone around him fought over the free food.

Even more drained, Shin slept in the next day past homeroom and arrived in the middle of math class. He opened the door, ready to respond to Yankumi’s “Hey, why are you late?” with a scolding look, as he considered his exhaustion her fault, then froze.

At first he thought they had a sub, then as the woman turned to him in her skirt and jacket and high heels, he realized that the face at least was Yankumi’s. Blinking in shock, he wondered what had happened to her when the distinctive sound of a camera clicked a few times.

“Oh, are you tardy, Mr. Sawada?” She smiled beatifically at him. “Try not to be late for class tomorrow, okay?” The weird grown-up outfit was strange enough, but when he heard her sugary sweet voice speaking oh so formally and politely, he got the hell out of there.

Whoever that was, that was not **_his_** Yankumi, and he wasn’t spending any time in that Twilight Zone parallel universe down there, just in case something else horrible happened. Like the zombie apocalypse. Or an alien invasion.

He retreated to the roof and tried to sleep, but couldn’t get the incredibly disturbing image of that bizarre version of Yankumi out of his mind. When he walked back down to the classroom, he saw that the rest of 3-D was just as confused and freaked out as he was.

Out of duty to his classmates, Shin decided to brave their camera crazy teacher and joined them back in 3-D. Once settled in his seat, he started glaring at the reporter and photographer. They were the ones to blame for this, he decided, and tried to figure out when they would leave.

“What kind of teacher is Yamaguchi-sensei to you?” The reporter asked, pointing his recorder at various students. Shin was developing an instinctual intense dislike for the man, mostly because his smile was creepy. He looked like one of those tabloid reporters, ready to do anything to get that next big scoop.

Her students mumbled to each other instead of answering his question, and Yankumi pushed past him to speak to them. “Everyone! There’s no need to be bashful. Talk to him frankly.”

Shin sighed. She obviously did not think about whether she wanted these strangers to know her rather unorthodox manner of dealing with her boisterous students. _She probably has no idea that what she does is weird._

Emboldened by her permission, the boys starting shouting out examples.

“Ah! She takes food out of our lunch box without asking, doesn’t she?”

The students agreed, and the reporter looked at her strangely. “Well, that’s because…” She started, but was interrupted.

“We want her to stop joining in our obscene conversations, don’t we?”

“When she’s mad, she hits us too, you know. With her fist.”

“She does what?” The reporter asked, leaning forward with his recorder.

“No, no. That’s not it.” Yankumi said frantically.

 _Told you so_ , Shin scolded her silently, then decided to help.

“It’s tough love.” He said, rolling his head to look at her.

“Yes! That’s it! Tough love!” She leapt on the idea like a drowning man grabbing for a lifeline.

“Tough love, I see. Wonderful.” The reporter told her, then smiled at Shin. _Yup. Super creepy._

As Yankumi left, taking the pair of trouble-makers with her, the boys discussed how awful that was.

“Thank God it’s Friday.” Minami said. “At least we won’t have to deal with her being all crazy for two whole days.”

The class agreed, then packed up their things to go home. Shin and the rest of the gang stopped and bought umbrellas to shield themselves from the spring rainstorm that had hit. While they tried to decide where to go for food, they passed by Kuma’s family’s restaurant. It was covered in signs and newspaper copies with Kuma’s picture circled in red, and declared that everything was half off due to Kuma’s bravery.

“Your dad is going all out, isn’t he?” Noda laughed. Kuma just glowered at the signs until they all saw Kumai-san riding up on his moped.

They all said hello, and Kuma’s father invited them in for some ramen.

“We don’t want it.” Kuma told him shortly. “We’re going to a buffet restaurant.”

“Don’t go to a place like that. Eat here!”

Kuma took a step forward. “I said we don’t want to!”

“Watch how you talk.” His father warned.

“Shut up, you shitty old man!” The boy shouted.

“What did you say?” Kumai-san san growled, but Kuma was already walking away.

“Don’t be late coming home!” He called after his son, then shook his head. Turning to Shin with a smile, he shrugged a bit. “Well, that’s how he is. Thanks for keeping him company.”

Shin smiled back. He had always liked Kuma’s dad, mostly because even when he and Kuma yelled at each other, there was always an undertone of love in what Kumai-san said.

He nodded at the man, told him goodbye, and headed for his grumpy friend.

“Ku-ma.” Uchi bumped him with a sing-song voice. “Are you going to take over the restaurant after graduation?”

“No way. Why take over a restaurant about to go under?” Kuma said in a surly tone.

“What? It is true that it’s going under?” Minami asked in surprise.

“If so, you better help your dad,” Noda told him.

“I don’t care.” Kuma mumbled.

Shin thought back on how Kumai-san had simply shrugged and smiled after Kuma shouted and called him names.

“He’s a good dad,” He told Kuma. _Even if you can’t see it._

“Huh? He yells at me all the time and-” They heard loud voices behind them, and turned to see Kuma’s dad handing out copies of the newspaper clipping and telling everyone how his son helped catch a dangerous criminal. Kuma furrowed his brows. “And he’s passing out that stuff. Shitty old man. I need a break.”

Shin watched as Kuma walked past, and thought he detected embarrassment that his dad was so excited. _Well, hopefully he figures out how good he has it_ , Shin thought as he shook his head and followed Kuma with a smile.

He went to bed that night looking forward to sleeping in as late as he wanted. He loved weekends. Which is why when his phone rang at 6 am, he only grabbed it in order to smash it on the floor. Blinking, he stared at the caller ID. Why was Yankumi calling him this early on a Saturday?

“Hmm?” He groaned into his phone, ready to kill his teacher if this was a prank call or if it had anything to do with her stupid interview.

“Sawada! Thank God you answered. Call the other boys and meet me at the hospital as soon as you can.”

“What? Why?” He asked, sitting up slowly.

“It’s Kuma’s dad. He… well, Kuma just called me and…”

Trying not to panic, he took a breath and asked sharply, “What is it, Yankumi?”

“…He’s dead. Kuma didn’t say much but he was so upset and he’s at the hospital and I’m on my way and I don’t have everyone’s numbers and I don’t know how to tell them and I’m so worried about him and-” She was running out of air and sounded on the verge of tears.

“I’ll be right there.” He told her as calmly as he could manage and hung up. The other boys were in just as much shock and swore they’d be there in minutes.

They all met at the entrance and ran down the hall to the waiting room. There, sitting alone on one of the benches, was Kuma, staring at the floor.

“Kuma,” Yankumi spoke softly. He looked up slowly, then turned back to the floor.

“It was a heart attack.” He said in a heartbroken voice. “He didn’t come downstairs as he usually did… When Mom went to wake him up… he was already…” He couldn’t finish.

“That can’t be.” Uchi whispered.

“We just saw him yesterday.” Minami said.

Noda was blinking rapidly. “He was full of spirits then.”

Kuma glanced up at the wall. “The last words I said… ‘Shut up, you shitty old man’… What the hell was that? Can’t I apologize to him anymore?” They could all hear the anguish in his tone.

They heard footsteps and saw Kuma’s mother and sister and brother coming out of an office. His mother saw them, then bowed slowly. They all bowed in return, at a loss for what to say.

Yankumi went and knelt down next to Kuma. “Kuma, pull yourself together, okay? You gotta help your mom and your siblings. Alright?” She told him gently.

“Damn it.” Kuma muttered, then did his best to not sob.

Shin couldn’t take it anymore. “Kuma,” he said, stepping forward.

“Damn it!” Kuma shouted, then ran past his teacher, his friends, and his family as they all called out to him.

A week passed, and even though the mourning period was over, Kuma’s seat remained empty.

“He can’t get over the shock.” Noda murmured as they all stared sadly at his desk.

Yankumi looked around. “Do you guys know how he’s doing?”

Shin spoke. “Yesterday I stopped by his place. According to his mom, he’s been wandering around all day.” He didn’t mention that his mother looked like she hadn’t slept in days and was still trying to run the restaurant, and that when she said Kuma was wandering around, it meant that she hadn’t seen him for days.

“I hope he doesn’t do anything rash.” Uchi said.

“His little sister and brother are still quite small.” Minami commented.

“Isn’t there anything we can do for him?” Uchi asked with a sigh of frustration. If it was a gang or a test or anything else, they would know what to do, but with this… no one had any idea.

“Like what?” Noda asked derisively.

“It may be best to leave him alone for now.” Yankumi told them. Shin sighed. It was probably best, but it felt wrong to just sit and do nothing.

The atmosphere of the class was incredibly subdued, and even Yankumi had trouble concentrating. When the day was over, Shin decided to go by the restaurant again, just to see if Kuma had come back yet. He arrived just in time to see Yankumi go inside. A sad smile appeared on his face. Look at her, not taking her own advice. He knew that Kuma was special to her. She cared about all of them, but Kuma the first one to accept her as a teacher.

When she came out and saw Shin waiting for her, she stopped in surprised. “Sawada,” she said, then looked down. Nothing else needed to be said. They both were worried about him, and wanted to do _something_ to help.

She started walking, and Shin fell in step with her easily. They walked in silence for a while, and Shin felt marginally better just being around her. She took the long way around towards his home, and soon the sidewalk led them through a tunnel. It was here, a spot of darkness in the surrounding light, that Shin finally spoke.

“Kuma hasn’t been back, has he?”

She looked up at him. “You knew?”

He sighed. “Yankumi,” he turned to her, feeling helpless and lost. “What can I do for him?” _You’ve always fixed things before. You always know what to do. Help me._

“Sawada,” She spoke his name, and Shin suddenly realized she felt just as helpless and lost as he did.

Taking a breath, she put on a smile and tried to sound cheerful. “Don’t worry. He’ll probably be fine. Let’s leave him alone for now.”

“I know,” Shin sighed, hating that that was the best advice. “But Kuma supported me… at the lowest point of my life.”

 _When I thought I had no friends. When I thought I didn’t care about anyone. When I was ready to leave school, leave everyone…_ his eyes flicked to his left. _Leave you. He found me and brought me back. He reminded me I wasn’t alone._

“So now it’s my turn to do the same for him. I can’t just do nothing, knowing how he must be feeling.”

Yankumi stared him a moment. “Sawada,” she said, and when Shin met her gaze, he saw the empathy and compassion in her eyes. She knew what losing a parent was like. And she hated not helping as much as he did. He nodded, then they parted ways.

The next day was the same. Yankumi read through roll call. “Imagawa?”

“Here.”

“Kechi?”

“Here.”

“Ku-” She stopped and looked at Kuma’s still empty desk. The other students followed her gaze sadly. The sound of her pencil marking him absent again was loud in the still classroom.

The day passed slowly, and when the four boys made their way home, they all paused when they saw the same stupid crepe cart.

“I wonder if Kuma’s eating alright.” Uchi said softly.

Shin thought that any kind of food probably reminded Kuma of his dad and his family’s restaurant. The restaurant that was in danger of going under. Where Kuma’s mom ran herself ragged and his sister and brother were working hard.

He looked up with fire in his eyes. He couldn’t do a thing about Kuma losing his father. But he would be damned if he let Kuma lose his father’s restaurant, too.

Turning away, he marched back the way they had come. His friends glanced at him and each other in confusion.

“Shin? Shin!” Noda called, and they all followed him uncertainly. When they started to realize where he was going, their strides grew longer and surer. _This_ was something they could do.

Kuma’s mother looked up wearily as the door to the restaurant opened. “Welcome. How can I-” She stopped and blinked at them.

Shin took a breath. “We’d like to help out.” He told her, and bowed. The rest of the boys nodded and bowed deeply as well.

“Uh…” Mrs. Kumai-san said, unsure how to react. “No, no, it’s alright-”

“Thanks very much.” Shin nodded at her and went behind the counter to grab aprons and overshirts.

“Thank you!” Uchi bowed again, and caught the apron Shin threw at him.

“What? No, you boys don’t have to-” The poor woman looked bewildered. Minami took this as his cue to smile charmingly and sidle on up to her.

“You see, with us handsome men working here, business will be booming in no time.” He told her confidently.

“Restaurants are great places to meet girls.” Noda added, and Shin threw the shirt so it landed on his face.

“Well, I…” She started, but was interrupted by the phone ringing. As she went to answer it, the boys took charge of the restaurant. Uchi revealed that he actually cooked ramen for his mom a lot, and quickly rescued one of the pots that was about to boil over. When Mrs. Kumai-san hung up, she looked at the boys for a moment with overbright eyes. Pulling herself together, she told Uchi and Minami to tie back their hair, gave Noda and Shin notepads to take orders, doused the ramen with some spices, relegated Minami to helping Kuma’s little sister with dishes, and tried to hide how grateful she was.

The boys worked cheerfully, happy that they finally had some tangible way to help Kuma and his family. They complained to each other with smiles that tomorrow they were probably going to be here super early, and that they better tell their parents to expect them home late. Maybe Yankumi would give them extra credit for work experience if they came after school?

But then there was no time to even pretend to complain. A large dinner party of businessmen arrived, and kept everyone on their toes. After keeping every water glass full and rushing every order, the boys were gratified to notice the large tip they had left. All four friends followed them out with ‘thank you’s and ‘please come again’s.

Turning back, Shin’s eyes widened in surprise. There, looking bloodied and beaten, was a teary Kuma, standing next to a battle-ready Yankumi.

“Kuma! Yankumi!” Uchi shouted, and they hurried over. The large boy looked at his friends and attempted to speak.

Minami grinned him and said, “So much for the business going under. You have many customers coming, I tell you.”

“Your mom is quite the slave-driver.” Noda informed him.

“So true.” Uchi agreed. “My arms are about to fall off.”

“Kuma,” Shin called his name, then said what they all meant. “Don’t make us worry.”

“Shin,” Kuma said, then was interrupted by his mother.

“Terou!” His little sister and brother followed their mom out, and when they saw Kuma, they ran to hug him. “Where have you been?”

“I’m sorry.” He told his mother, his siblings, his friends, his teacher. “I’m so sorry.” Pulling his siblings to him, he no longer held back his tears.

Mrs. Kumai-san blinked rapidly for a moment, then said, “You’re hungry, right? I’ll fix you ramen.” When he didn’t respond, she grabbed his hand and pulled him inside the restaurant. “Hey, what are you doing? Come on.”

As the boys watched the family reunite, they heard a voice from behind them.

“You guys have been doing this behind my back, haven’t you?” They turned to look at Yankumi and tried to stifle their grins. “You should’ve told me.” She chided them, then sighed and marched towards the doors. “Why don’t I help, too?” She muttered, and they happily returned to the restaurant together.

As Shin brought back dishes and took out orders, he teased Yankumi for having trouble cooking simple pot stickers.

“Make sure you don’t serve them charbroiled,” he told her, attempting to hide a smile.

She sputtered at him indignantly until Mrs. Kumai-san told her that she was burning the food and to pay more attention. Shin chuckled to himself, then got back to work. Every now and then he would look up to see Kuma staring at the picture of his father. Then, the boy would nod at the picture and continue cooking with determination.

It was nearly 11 pm when they finally closed, and Shin had never enjoyed working so much in his life. The boys and their teacher told Kuma’s family to let them know if they ever needed more help, then headed home, exhausted but content.

Shin and Yankumi followed the same path for a while.

“Where’d you find him?” Shin asked.

“Out by the railroad tracks.”

“Hm.” He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “How many guys did you have to beat up?”

“Only five or s- hey! Who said I beat up anyone, eh?”

He nodded at her lack of glasses and pigtails. “That’s your battle costume.”

“What?”

“Nevermind. What did you say to him to make him come back?”

She paused thoughtfully. “I told him that he had to see something, and took him to see you guys working at the restaurant. I told him that you all were so stupid to think of something as simple as this, but that you did it for him, being stupidly optimistic the whole time that he would come back.”

“Hey, now. It was a good idea.” He told her, easily imagining her changing Kuma’s mind by complimenting them with insults.

He turned left to head to his apartment. “Later.”

“Sawada.” He turned to look at her and saw a proud smile.

“It was a _great_ idea.” She told him, then skipped down the road, leaving Shin to try and categorize the rising feeling in his chest as a result of indigestion from too much ramen.

When Yankumi greeted the class the next morning at school, a chorus of ‘good morning’ and a loud snore answered her. She peered down the row of desks to see a bandaged Kuma sleeping soundly.

“Hey Kuma, get up!” She called as she walked towards him. The snores continued.

“Let him sleep,” Shin told her.

“He said he decided to help with the restaurant, starting today.” Uchi informed her.

“Is that true?” She asked.

“He got up early to make preparations.” Minami told her with a fond smile at his napping classmate.

Noda laughed. “Knowing Kuma, he might eat more than he makes.”

“I see. He decided to help with the restaurant.” Yankumi said with great affection.

“I can’t eat anymore…” Mumbled Kuma in his sleep, causing everyone to laugh.

“Well, it can’t be helped. I’ll let it slide today.” Yankumi said. And as they all gazed fondly at him, Shin had a feeling that Yankumi would let him slide a few more times. Because she was Yankumi, and they were her precious students. And it would stay that way until graduation.

Or so he thought.


	12. Deliberate Defiance

**Chapter Twelve! The Finale! (But not the end! I’m going to cover the Gokusen Special, as well as my own version for how Shin deals with his feelings for Yankumi. Yay!)**

**Such an emotional chapter. Anyways, the only note today is about Kick the Can. It’s a combination of Tag, Hide and Seek, and Capture the Flag. One person closes their eyes and counts while the can is kicked and everyone else runs and hides. The person who is ‘it’ has to find and guard the can from everyone else. All the other people try to find and steal the can without getting tagged by ‘it’. If they do get tagged, they’re out until someone successfully steals the can and starts a new game.**

**Well, read, enjoy, and please review! Let me know what your favorite (or least favorite) part is, and what you’re looking forward to!**

* * *

 

The day that changed everything started innocuously enough.

There were still a few minutes until homeroom started, and Shin was napping at his desk. If Yankumi practiced her speech for the upcoming symposium on Saturday one more time, he decided, he was heading to the roof for the rest of the day. He knew it was exciting for her, but high school boys only had limited interest in these things.

With his eyes closed, he could hear the sounds of his classmates talking, the screech of moving desks, the impact of a ball being tossed around, and rapidly approaching footsteps. He lifted his head from his arm to see who was running in, and why they wanted to reach 3-D so fast. _Maybe something interesting happened_ , he thought.

“Bad news! Bad news! Really, _really_ bad news!” Takeda shouted as he skidded into the classroom. The rest of the students looked up as he shoved the magazine towards Uchi, then stood panting.

“What’s going on?” Uchi asked, staring at the cover of the latest issue of _Wednesday Weekly_.

“Page…thirteen!” Takeda gasped as he tried to catch his breath. Frowning, Uchi flipped through the pages as the rest of the boys gathered around. When page thirteen finally came into view, there was a round of wide eyes, surprised gasps, and shocked curses. Shin felt his stomach drop to the floor.

It was a full two page picture of Yankumi in her full on battle mode, taken right after she backhanded a gang member with a pipe. “Violence in front of a student!” The tagline read. “Big rough-up with thugs!” The column on the right declared, “Fireball teacher is the 4th generation head of a yakuza family!”

 _She’s not the 4 th head, she’s the granddaughter of the 3rd generation head_, Shin thought in a daze, then shook his head to clear it. That detail didn’t matter. Her secret was out.

“What the hell?” Uchi asked as he stared at the magazine.

Everyone knew now. Shin glanced up as he realized what kind of hell she was going to catch for this.

“Yankumi,” he breathed, and had a sudden desire to try and shield her from all the pain this would cause.

“That’s… that’s one of the guys who came after me,” Kuma said slowly, pointing at the man in the photo. “This was from when my dad…” He couldn’t finish.

“Is this true?” Noda asked, glancing around. Almost as if by instinct, his eyes darted at Shin. For a moment, Shin froze, praying his face didn’t give him away. Noda must have seen something however, because he turned towards Shin and opened his mouth to ask another question.

Before he could say anything, Shin interrupted him. “Does it matter?” He asked the class. When they all shifted their gazes to him, he explained, “Does it change who she is? What she’s done for us?” There was a long pause, then, one by one, his classmates looked at the floor, considering his words. Shin waited, holding his breath.

“No.”

Shin turned to Kuma, surprised at the strength in the boy’s voice.

“This picture was taken because she came to find me. Because she rescued me. I don’t care if she’s yakuza – she’s the only teacher that cared about me like that.” Kuma almost glared at the rest of them, daring someone to make fun of him or attack Yankumi.

Silence followed, then Uchi let out a soft chuckle. “That explains why she’s so good at fighting.”

“And so bad at teaching math,” Minami added with a growing smile. The boys laughed, then started adding their own reasons why her being part of a yakuza family made sense. Shin tried to suppress the smile he felt at the swell of pride in his classmates. She had never judged them because of their families or mannerisms, and they certainly weren’t going to start.

The laughing turned into good-natured ribbing, which then turned into other topics of conversation, and the room slowly returned to normal. The boys went back to their seats, and Shin sat on his desk and burned the names of the reporter and the photographer that were responsible for revealing her secret into his memory.

Yankumi arrived late, understandably (they could hear the incessant ring of phones all the way in 3-D), and they all heard her chant “Fight-o, oh!” to herself before she entered the classroom.

“Good morning,” She attempted, and Shin could hear the strain in her voice. When there was no outraged reaction to her greeting, she obviously assumed that they hadn’t heard. He peered at her from under his brows and saw her walk slowly to her desk. Gathering her courage, she took a deep breath and started, “Um…”

“Yankumi.” She looked up to see Uchi smiling at her. “We saw it!” He told her, holding up the magazine as if it was an exciting accomplishment.

Another sideways glance showed her smiling tightly. “Yeah, about that…”

“The photo didn’t come out too well,” Ochi interrupted, shaking his head at the photographer’s shoddy work.

Yankumi stared. “Eh?”

Minami piped up with modeling advice. “Next time, better pose with your face turned 45 degrees right.”

“You’re definitely not sexy.” Oishi commented, making a face.

“A little peek at the panties might have helped,” Noda added, then laughed as the class simultaneously reacted in disgust.

As shouts of “Ew! Don’t want to see that!” echoed around the classroom, Yankumi looked more and more confused, as if she wasn’t sure why they were teasing her about such a scandal. Shin kept his eyes firmly on his magazine and explained what they really meant.

“It doesn’t matter.” He looked up and saw her eyes fill with a desperate hope. “It doesn’t matter to us whether you’re from a yakuza family.”

“Yankumi is Yankumi.” Noda said simply.

The rest of 3-D agreed with loud voices that it didn’t matter, that it made her cool, that nothing had really changed. Shin saw her blink rapidly and bite her lip to keep from crying. The fact that she was so overwhelmed from their gesture of acceptance confirmed his suspicion that everyone else had been judging her, treating her differently, and that a group of hooligan teenagers were the only ones to consider her feelings.

Yankumi looked at her students with a watery smile. “You guys…” She paused, then somehow, her eyes found Shin. “Thank you.” He met her gaze, and was hit by the need to do _something_ , to fix this, to stop people from hurting her.

Just then, the door opened, and the Principal asked to speak with her outside. She nodded, smiled weakly at her class, then followed the Principal out. The room went silent once more as they were reminded that even though they didn’t care about Yankumi’s family, everyone else did. In the quiet, they could suddenly hear the shout of reporters outside as a car passed by. As Shin sat at his desk, his mind whirled around the noise of the reporters’ questions, the picture from the magazine, and Yankumi’s face as she realized that her students didn’t hate her. The images and sounds spun together faster and faster, until he opened his eyes and only the yells from the people outside remained.

He was not going to just sit here while the people around him tore Yankumi apart. She had helped them when they felt powerless against the teachers, against all adults, and he would be _damned_ if he was going to stand by helplessly when she deserved defending.

He stood up suddenly, the screech of his desk drawing everyone’s attention. “Let’s go.”

Without a word from anyone, the rest of the class rose up and followed him out. As they walked toward the crowd of reporters, Shin took a breath and reminded his classmates (as well as himself), “You guys, hands off, okay?”

The group of adults armed with recorders, cameras, and notepads looked up to see who was approaching. When they saw the school uniforms, their faces lit up like predators discovering prey wandering in for dinner.

“You’re 3-D students, right? Can we interview you?” They shouted as they ran at the group of boys.

“Did you know that Yamaguchi-sensei is the heir to a yakuza family?”

“Is she violent with you? She seems like she’s very good at fighting.”

“It’s none of your business!” Shimazu shouted, grabbing one particularly pushy reporter by his collar. Shin rushed over and released the man.

“Hey, stop it,” He said, pushing his classmate back.

“So you guys are violent also.” Shin heard a familiar, smug voice say from the back of the group. The correspondent for _Wednesday Weekly_ and his partner strode through the crowd, smiling the whole way. As Shin felt a huge temptation to strangle the smile off of the reporter’s face, he realized that this was a bad idea. A really bad idea. If he could barely vouch for his own temper, there was no telling what the rest of his volatile classmates would do.

“Hey,” Uchi growled, “Aren’t you the reporter from the other day?” As they heard the danger in his voice, the crowd quickly moved closer and thrust their microphones at him. “Why did you write all that nonsense?” He asked, ignoring the storm of camera flashes.

“Nonsense?” The man responded with a smirk. “Don’t insult me. I didn’t lie.”

“Weren’t you watching?” Kuma demanded as the microphones and cameras swerved to point at him, “Yankumi was only protecting me.”

“Well, it’s our job to write something that interests the readers.” The man looked even more satisfied, which only infuriated the boys more.

“So you can write anything as long as it’s interesting?!” Noda pushed through and shouted.

“Apologize to Yankumi!” Minami commanded, glaring at him.

The reporter laughed. “Your teacher can’t even teach you how to talk politely?” He mocked. The anger in the group of boys rose exponentially.

Kuma was the first to break. “What?!” He shouted and grabbed at the man.

“Stop, Kuma! Pull away!” Shin yelled over the crowd, but it was no use. Soon every student was pushing against a cameraman or reporter, shouting insults and demanding apologies.

“You guys! Stop it!” Yankumi’s voice cut through the crowd as she and the other teachers tried to separate her students from their opponents.

“They insulted you!” Uchi shouted. “I can’t help it!”

“Apologize to her!” Kuma bellowed on the other side of the mob.

Yankumi finally pushed the students away from the reporters, and stopped when the instigator of all the commotion spat out, “Quite a bunch of delinquents you have there! I had no idea that they were so violent! They aren’t high school students. They’re thugs!”

As Yankumi turned towards him, Shin found himself wishing that she would clock this guy in the face.

“You call my precious students thugs?” She asked tightly, and again, all the cameras started flashing as they heard the anger in her voice.

“Did they do anything? Anything that warrants you following them around?” She shouted at them, defending her students as she always did.

Shin bit the inside of his cheek as he stared at her, trying to ignore the rapid beating of his heart.

Iwamoto, who had been trying to hold Uchi back, glanced around and suddenly said in a choked voice, “The Director!”

Everyone turned to see a glowering older man walked towards them, flanked by Head Teacher and Minion Washio. He stopped, and stared significantly at Yankumi, who met his gaze directly, but Shin thought he saw her hide a small flash of fear.

That small hint of fear terrified him. And infuriated him. He was angry at the reporter, angry at the crowd of columnists, angry at that Director, but he was furious at himself. He had meant to help, to show the reporters that they were wrong, but now he had just made it worse. And he was afraid that Yankumi would have to pay the price.

As the men returned to the school, Yankumi took a breath and ushered her students back without a single glance at the reporters. The boys waited anxiously in the classroom, but the bell rang without any sign of Yankumi. Glancing worriedly at each other and Shin, the students eventually filed out. Shin sat at his desk, staring at the floor, trying to think through what would happen, what the consequences of their actions would be. He didn’t like any of the options he came up with.

“Shin…” He heard Kuma’s voice, saw his friends’ shoes standing near him. When he didn’t respond, the pairs of shoes turned towards each other, concerned, then turned back to him. Still unmoving, Shin watched the shoes walk away, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Only two choices made any logical sense. Either they would punish the students for causing a commotion, or they would punish Yankumi. And since they were looking for an excuse to get rid of this teacher from a yakuza family, they would most likely choose Yankumi. And she would probably let them, because she would think it was her fault somehow, and try to protect her precious students.

Standing up, he headed toward his apartment, trying to think of some way, any way, out of this. He reached his apartment, changed out of his uniform, then tried to think of something else. He couldn’t. Sighing, he decided to get some fresh air. He walked and thought for a while, until he looked up and realized that his feet had taken him to Yankumi’s part of town. He hesitated for a moment, then made his way towards the Oedo house. As he walked up to the door, he heard some forced laughter that stopped too soon. _They’re trying to cheer her up_ , he thought, and knew it probably wasn’t working.

“Oh! Young Master Shin!” Makoto had noticed him at the doorway. “What are you doing here?”

Shin took a breath. “I’m here to see Yankumi.”

Makoto nodded, then motioned him to come in and take off his shoes while he went to tell Yankumi.

“Ojou, Shin is here.” He heard Makoto say through the thin walls.

“Sawada?” She asked, and he thought he heard a bit of hope (maybe something else?) in her voice.

Shin came into the living room and bowed to Kuroda-san, who returned the gesture thoughtfully. Yankumi stood up, looking confused, then tried to smile at him.

“Ah, Kumiko, why don’t you and Shin go talk somewhere private?” Kuroda-san suggested to his granddaughter, who nodded and headed down the hall.

It wasn’t until she opened the door and walked in that Shin realized the ‘somewhere private’ was her room. Carefully pushing down any thoughts not related to the problem at hand, he wandered around her bedroom as if it wasn’t a big deal. After all, she had done the same in his apartment.

“Tidy room.” He commented as he looked around. It was. Everything was neat and in its place. He leaned down to get a better look at the pictures on her desk. One was of a younger Yankumi, smiling and hugging two people he guessed were her parents. The other, he was surprised to see, was of all of 3-D. It was taken after the whole male cheerleading fiasco, before they had found out Yankumi had tricked them. Everyone, including him, was smiling.

“What is it?” She asked softly.

“Hm?” He said as he wandered to a different corner of her room. Discovering a bin full of toys, he picked up a mask and tried it on. “I thought you might be depressed,” he told her, smothering any other reasons that his inner voice gave him for why he came to her house.

“Eh?”

“You tend to blame yourself and get depressed.” He explained, wondering if she was surprised at how well he knew her. And if she ever wondered why.

“Sawada…”

He turned to face her. “Our punishment will be determined tomorrow, right? Sorry to have caused all that commotion.” He met her eyes and said the next sentence as clearly as he could. “But it wasn’t your fault.”

Her eyes watered, and she glanced at the floor before looking back up. “Why are you apologizing? You didn’t do anything. It was all my fault-”

Shaking his head at her, Shin interrupted. “See? You’re taking all the blame.” The corner of his mouth twitched up, teasing her a little for doing exactly as he predicted.

The tiny smile she offered in return made his stomach turn in odd ways, so he quickly looked away.

“Sawada.” She said, stepping closer to him. “I won’t let them expel you guys. Not at any cost.”

A little disappointed that that’s all she took from his words, he nodded and said, “I see. Sorry to have bothered you at such a late hour.” With a small, comforting smile, he turned to walk out.

“Thank you.”

Her words stopped him, and he forced himself to ask her about his greatest fear.

“Hey, Yankumi,” He took a breath as she turned towards him. “You won’t be forced to quit, will you?” He looked up from the floor, met her gaze, and asked again, “You won’t be fired because of us, will you?”

Her eyes widened for just a moment, and Shin grew even more afraid. Was he right? But then, she smiled and let out a soft laugh. “Of course not,” she told him firmly. He stared at her a moment longer, trying to read her. She held her grin, and Shin let out a breath of relief.

He grinned softly in return, then said, “Night.”

“Take care,” she called after him as he headed out. He bowed farewell to Kuroda-san, who looked as if Shin’s visit had given him much to think about, then said goodbye to the other yakuza members.

When he reached his apartment, he tried to sleep. _What if she gets fired?_ His mind asked worriedly.

 _She said she wouldn’t. She promised. And she’s never lied to me._ He told himself, and fell asleep clinging to that thought.

The day that changed Shin’s life dawned like any other.

Despite sleeping most of the night, he felt tired, restless, uneasy. He arrived at school and had to push his way through the even bigger crowd of paparazzi. He said nothing to them, and managed not to attack anyone. Walking in to 3-D, he saw that his friends had the same mix of anger and anxiety. He nodded at them, then waited. Waited for Yankumi to walk through the door and tell them they were suspended, or had to clean toilets, or something, and they would do it happily because it meant that she was staying.

But when the door opened, it revealed Akechi, looking worried and out of breath.

“Bad news.” He shouted, “Yankumi has turned in a letter of resignation.”

Almost before he had finished his sentence, Shin leapt out of his seat and ran out the door. He only had three conscious thoughts as he sprinted through the hall.

_No._

_She can’t leave._

_I love her._

And there was no time for denials, excuses, or pretending it was something else. No time to think about how long that thought had been in the making. How ridiculous it was. How natural it felt. There was only time to run. He barreled past other students, barely aware that the rest of 3-D was following him, focused only on finding her and stopping her. He couldn’t lose her. Not now.

He found her walking slowly down the tree lined avenue that led away from their school. He shouted her name as he skidded to a stop a few feet away. The rest of 3-D called out as they too, slowed their headlong run.

She stopped, turned, and met their gaze with only a flicker of sadness. Masking it quickly, she forced a smile.

“What are you guys doing? Shouldn’t you be in class? Go back.”

And suddenly he was angry. He was _furious_. She was using the same smile as last night, in order to lie to him, to hide that she was hurting, to make him believe her untruth. She was lying to them to protect them, and didn’t have the decency to let him know. To let him help.

“What the hell are you doing?” Uchi shouted, speaking for all of the confused students.

“Why are you quitting?” Imagawa demanded.

Shin could only breathe heavily and glare as he watched her smile fade.

“It’s our fault, isn’t it?” Noda asked, biting his lip.

“You’re being forced to take responsibility for yesterday, aren’t you?” Kuma said.

Her fake smile reappeared. “That’s not it.”

“Then, why aren’t we getting punished?” Uchi’s voice was on the verge of breaking.

She glanced at the ground and started blinking rapidly. “That’s… that’s…” Getting ahold of herself, she looked up firmly. “That’s… because it’s not necessary.”

Minami was having none of it. “That doesn’t make sense!”

As Shin stared, glared, silently pleaded, he saw her façade weaken. “My resignation is not related to what you did.” She told them in a shaking voice.

He couldn’t take it anymore. He took a few steps forward. “Then tell us. Why are you quitting?”

_Why did you lie?_

_Why did you lie to us?_

_To me?_

She said nothing, but Shin saw her eyes filling with tears. “Did you do anything that warrants it?”

Still nothing.

His frustration poured out as he answered his own question. “You didn’t!” He shouted. “But you’re quitting anyway? That’s not like you.”

_Admit it, Yankumi. Let us help. Let me help._

Suddenly blinking back his own tears, he took a breath and skirted as close to the newly discovered truth as he dared. “Didn’t you tell us to be honest with our feelings? Are you doing that now?!”

_Be honest! If you don’t want to leave us, don’t! Stay! (Please… please…)_

“Aren’t you lying to yourself?!” He demanded, voice ragged, breaking. And as she met his gaze, as her watering eyes met his, a moment of quiet extended between the both of them as the rest of 3-D shouted and begged her not to quit.

 _Stay_ , he asked silently. And for an eternal second, he thought she might.

But then she grit her teeth, gathered herself, and yelled over the noise of pleading, “I’m tired of taking care of you guys!”

Silence fell, and Shin’s heart clenched. He knew what she was doing. He knew exactly what she was trying to do, because he had done it himself. She was trying to save them, to protect them, and the only way she could was to make them hate her.

_“I won’t let them expel you guys. Not at any cost.”_

“I didn’t think it was so troublesome to be a teacher.” She shouted, trying to hide the traces of pain. “I had no idea you guys required so much care.” And because she knew they could tell, that Shin could tell, how much of an effort the lie cost her, she turned away.

“I’m fed up with being a teacher!” She choked out.

Shin couldn’t take it anymore. “You’re lying!”

“No, I’m not!” She screamed back, then walked away as quickly as she could.

Unable to keep still, Shin ran his hand through his hair, then bellowed at her retreating figure. “Stop messing around! You promised! You promised to see us through to the end!” Fueled by the pain and fear of losing her, he didn’t care if everyone heard how close he was to tears.

“You said you were going to get all of us to graduate together, didn’t you?!”

And because she kept walking, he screamed out her name in desperation. **_“Yankumi!”_**

His classmates joined him, crying out her name as she moved further and further away. They fell silent in hurt and disbelief when she turned a corner without so much as a backward glance. Shin’s shuddering breaths were loud in his own ears.

They stood there for what felt like forever, staring down the avenue as if she was going to return at any moment. After nearly an hour of waiting, Shin started the slow trudge back to the classroom. As they entered, everyone gave the empty podium a wide berth, as if acknowledging it would make everything real.

Gathered in the back of the room, every student of 3-D stared at the spot where Yankumi used to be. It felt as though she had taken their power with her, leaving them lost and helpless. Shin stared at the floor, ignoring the occasional looks his classmates gave him. They expected him to fix it, but he didn’t know how.

He felt empty. He felt abandoned. But mostly, he felt tired. The same weariness that had plagued him the first day of this year. The weariness that came from fighting against teachers, against adults, but knowing that they had no chance of winning.

Yankumi had tried to talk like all the other teachers he’d had. If she had said those things at the beginning of the year, he might have believed her. He would have wanted to believe her, to fit her into his category of worthless teachers.

But it was too late. She had changed them too much. She had proven over and over that she was unlike any other teacher, that she actually cared, that she actually listened. And the students of 3-D had begun to accept that as the norm. They had gotten used to being able to depend on a teacher, to trust an adult, to know that she would protect them.

At any cost.

He raised his head slowly. She had done so much for them – it was time for them to do something for her.

“Are we going to let it be?” He asked quietly.

Uchi murmured in response, “But what can we do?”

Shin stood and walked to the front of the room, then turned to face his classmates. “Isn’t there anything we can do for her?”

Everyone stared at the floor or each other, trying to think of how they could help, what they could do. But it was no use. They were only students. Teenagers. Kids. What could they do?

Shin felt his anger towards adults return. The one adult they could count on had been forced to resign. He muffled a mocking laugh. They had forced her to quit so they wouldn’t have to fire her. So they could save their precious reputation.

He froze. Their reputation. The one thing that the Head Teacher and the rest of the worthless adults cared about. If they could somehow use that as leverage…

His mind was working rapidly now. Damaging the school’s reputation. They could threaten to riot… no, that would only get them expelled and paint Yankumi in a worse light. There had to be a way for them to threaten Shirokin’s reputation without doing something violent or dangerous. To force them to rip up Yankumi’s letter of resig-

That was it. Letters of resignation. Expelling students looked like the adults were working for the good of the school, but if an entire class threatened to quit after their teacher ‘resigned’… at the nationwide Education Symposium tomorrow…

Shin looked up. “Guys,” he said, gaining everyone’s attention. “I have an idea.”

Noda quickly hacked into the school’s files to find the resignation forms for students. After hijacking one of the school printers, Shin sent Minami to go collect all twenty-six forms from one of the teacher’s lounges, and sent Uchi and a few others to find envelopes.

After the papers and envelopes were brought back to the classroom, every student sat down and filled out the forms with vicious determination. The teachers had been making all the rules until now. Time to change the game.

Everyone met outside the gym the next day, faces grim. Shin took a breath, and addressed his troops.

“If anyone doesn’t want to go through with this, you don’t have to. We’d understand if you wanted to stay in school.” He glanced at the ground. “Yankumi would understand.”

No one moved.

Shin nodded in approval, then added, “This is for Yankumi. So we will not attack, hit, or touch anyone there. Alright?”

Low noises of agreement echoed through the group. Shin took a breath, then led the resolute group into the hallway. As they drew closer to the gymnasium, he could hear the Director giving a speech.

“…resigned voluntarily yesterday. The students, however, will be acquitted without a punishment at this time. They have a bright future ahead of them. It is our duty as educators to be lenient towards our students…”

The fact that he even _pretended_ to care about their future only furthered Shin’s resolve. Before the Director could elaborate his lie, the boys opened the gym doors and marched in.

The look of shock on the Director’s face gave Shin a small bit of satisfaction. Just as he had guessed, there were masses of reporters here as well. _The more the merrier…_ he thought, then took a steadying breath.

“Please listen to what we have to say.” He spoke as calmly and clearly as possible. Cameras clicked and lights flashed at this unexpected interruption.

Minion Washio ran towards them, followed by the local teachers. “Get out!”

“We will not move until you listen to us.” Shin told him firmly.

Iwamoto-sensei tried to compromise. “Why don’t we talk later?”

“Yes, let’s go outside.” Ando-sensei added nervously.

“Please do not let Yamaguchi-sensei go.” Shin said, staring at the Director.

“Get out!” Shouted the Head Teacher from the platform.

“Get out, okay. Get out now.” Washio repeated, then the teachers tried to physically push them out.

The boys firmly reminded themselves that this was for Yankumi, kept their fists clenched firmly by their sides, and shouted, “Please listen to us. We beg you. Please! Listen to us! Bring her back! We need her! We beg you… please!”

The Director finally met Shin’s accusing gaze and said, “Is something wrong with you since you’re trying to defend that violent teacher? There’s no way that kind of person can guide students as a teacher!”

 _That’s enough of that_ , Shin said to himself, and pushed back through the line of teachers. He marched toward the Director and shouted, “It doesn’t matter!”

More cameras flashed as he strode toward the podium. “It doesn’t matter whether Yamaguchi Kumiko is from a yakuza family. It doesn’t matter whether people regard her as a violent teacher. That doesn’t matter at all to us!” He finished with a shout. Why did no one else get it?

“She’s taught us many things.” He took a moment, then used himself as an example. “I always thought that adults and teachers weren’t to be trusted. But she changed my mind.” He glared at the Head Teacher, trying to drive home his point. “Maybe I can trust her. Maybe I can open up my heart to her.” He bit back the logical conclusion of that statement. _Maybe I can love her._

_Maybe I do._

Uchi joined in. “She was the first teacher that didn’t judge us by our looks or grades.”

“I’ve been hit by teachers a lot, but she was the only one that hit me earnestly.” Kuma declared.

Even Oishi spoke up. “There’s no other teacher who takes us so seriously.”

Matsudaira shouted his approval. “That’s right!”

“Yakumi helped me understand for the first time what it means to care about friends.” Noda told them passionately.

“As for me, if it hadn’t been for her, I would have quit school and caused my mom a lot of grief.” Uchi spoke softly, but earnestly.

Minami took his turn. “Yankumi taught us the difference between fighting and violence.”

“There’s no other teacher like that.” Hazama said firmly as the rest of the class chorused their agreement.

“She was always on our side, no matter what.” Shin asserted with quiet zeal. “I always thought I could quit school anytime. But after she came, I began to think that there’s no better place to be.” His voice rose with strength. “There’s no other teacher quite like her.”

The Director narrowed his eyes. “Is that all you have to say?”

_Here we go._

“If you insist on not reinstating her, we will all…” He paused as he reached inside his jacket pocket to pull out his envelope, “withdraw from school.”

The teachers’ eyes widened as every single student behind him revealed their own letters of resignation. Shin deliberately dropped his to the ground, while some of the boys threw them down in defiance.

Video recorders and cameras zoomed in for the perfect angle as they captured the fluttering bits of white paper landing at Shin’s feet.

Washio dove for the floor and tried to gather them all up. “You teachers help me!” He commanded as he scrabbled along the floor. “What are you doing? Hurry and pick them up.” Choosing their own act of rebellion, none of the teachers next to him moved.

“You guys! Wait!”

Shin froze, then slowly turned with the rest of his classmates to look at the source of the voice. Standing there in full battle mode, was…

“Yankumi.” He breathed.

She started walking forward, her eyes fixed on Shin as though she knew this was all his idea. He met her gaze, trying to ignore the thudding of his heart, as she moved through the group of students. Her face was unreadable, with fleeting flickers of emotion too fast for Shin to catch. She dropped her eyes to the floor as soon as she passed Shin, then continued a few steps before picking up his letter.

“What a foolish thing to do.” He heard her whisper to herself, and he blinked uncertainly. He wanted her to know that they had done it for her, to help her.

“Director, Head Teacher, would you give me a little time?” She looked up and asked politely. “I have something to talk to you about.”

“You don’t work at the school anymore.” The Director sneered. “Get out of here.”

“I ask you. Please.” She continued in that calm tone, then bowed. Shin and the others glared at him from behind her, daring him to refuse.

He did. “Throw her out along with those students!” He commanded, but was interrupted by the most unlikely of people.

“Let’s listen to her.” Countered the Head Teacher.

Everyone stopped and stared.

“What are you doing?” The Director whispered loudly.

“She caused such a commotion. It’d be good for her to apologize to everyone present.” He spoke almost accidentally into the microphone, then looked at the Director with a raised eyebrow as more cameras flashed in his direction. “Yamaguchi-sensei.” He said, then motioned to the stand.

Yankumi walked up to the platform with steady, measured steps. When the Director looked like he was about to refuse to move away from the podium, Yankumi bowed once again, which caused even more cameras to go off. He glanced at the crowd of visiting teachers and reporters, then reluctantly yielded the mike.

“Everyone. I’m sorry to have caused such a commotion during the symposium. Yesterday I resigned from my teaching position. I regret that I won’t see my students graduate.” At the mention of the promise she had made so long ago, her eyes flicked to Shin, then away again.

“I have a favor to ask. Shirokin teachers, would you please support these students until graduation? Everyone else here, please don’t give up on them. They are not completely mature yet, so they sometimes make mistakes and do the wrong thing. But please don’t label them as delinquents and write them off just for that.” She attempted a small smile. “It’s just that these guys make a few more mistakes than others. That’s how they are. It was only for three months, but every day was really fun and fulfilling. I’m proud to have been a teacher to these Shirokin Gakuen 3-D students, who have their hearts in the right place.”

“Then why are you quitting?” Uchi called out, still angry and confused.

“Without you there’s no point in coming to school.” Noda shouted.

“School without you is no fun.” Kuma told her.

“You idiots! Stop monkeying around!” She interrupted. “What do you mean by ‘no fun’? School isn’t for playing but for studying. Studying isn’t for getting good grades, but for training yourself to overcome hardships. People cannot live alone. That’s why they learn to live with others. School is there for you to learn things like that. That’s why you need to attend regularly and graduate properly.”

And the fact that she was still trying to teach them, to leave them one last piece of advice, to help them even when she was no longer their teacher, inexplicably made Shin angry, ardent, emotional, and sad, all at the same time.

“You guys, listen carefully,” She said softly, staring at all of them earnestly. “You guys may not be good academically, but you guys have the most important things as human beings.” Swallowing a few times, she patted the left side of her chest. Over her heart. “Right here.”

Tears freely flowing down her cheeks, she left them with a last command. “So go live your life with pride, confidence, and dignity.” She took a step back, then bowed in wordless thanks and pride.

Shin couldn’t look away, but he knew from the heavy breathing and loud sniffs behind him that the rest of these hardened delinquents were fighting tears – and all because they had one person, only one, who believed that they had the most important thing human beings needed. A good heart.

As Shin watched her walk back through the crowd, his own heart felt full to bursting. He could tell how hard it was for her to renege on her promise, to say good-bye to her first students, to walk away without a fight, and that hurt him almost as much as the realization that he was losing her as soon as he admitted he loved her.

Her slow steps carried her past him, and as soon as she couldn’t see his face anymore, Shin closed his eyes and let his tears fall.

The sound of ripping paper, loud in the quiet gymnasium, forced Shin to open his eyes and stare at the platform. With his gaze firmly on Yankumi, the Head Teacher slowly, deliberately, and defiantly, destroyed her letter of resignation.

With once more glance at Yankumi, who had turned around with a glimmer of cautious hope, the Head Teacher marched over to the Director. “For the first time, I’m going against you.”

The Director gaped. “What?”

Head Teacher looked out on the crowd of students and their departing teacher. “We need Yamaguchi-sensei at our school.” He declared firmly. After a moment of stunned silence, the Principal stood up and started clapping. Little by little, the applause grew until it included everyone in the gym, from the Shirokin staff to the visiting educators.

Turning to the Director, Head Teacher spoke over the sound of support. “Can you still fire her?”

The older man walked forward, and while Shin couldn’t hear what he said, it was clearly threatening. To his credit, Head Teacher kept his composure, then let out a sigh of relief once the Director had left the stage.

As the applause continued, Uchi looked around uncertainly. “So, she doesn’t have to quit?” He asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Shin had only just allowed the news to sink in, but once he heard Uchi’s question, a broad smile stretched across his face.

“Of course not.”

This, of course, started a round of intense celebration, which soon resulted in hoisting Yankumi up on Kuma’s shoulders and parading her around the gym. After her wild and rather precarious ride, there was a round of chaotic and exuberant shouting and hugging, with a few people (such as the unlikely duo of Kashiwagi and Minoru) outwardly weeping with joy.

The next Monday was the happiest school day Shin had ever known. Yankumi came in with a beaming smile, and announced that they would be spending all day outside in celebration of her first day back. The board was quickly decorated, and everyone trooped outdoors. Shin was surprised to see how many people had come to support her return. Not only was her entire yakuza family there, but the local teachers and the detectives (Shin was annoyed to see) came out with them as well.

As the game of Kick the Can got underway, Shin noticed the observers split into groups. Kuroda-san and the Principal seemed to be having a grand time watching the young ones run around. Wakamatsu, Minoru, and Makoto were also smiling fondly as their Ojou tagged as many students as she could reach. The pair Shin was most suspicious of included Mr. Handsome Detective-san and Tetsu, with Shinohara’s partner sneaking through the grass behind them.

He seated himself a little ways in front of the two men, and casually watched his classmates and teacher vie for the can while being conveniently within earshot.

“Ojou is in love with you, but I will not give her up.” He heard Tetsu tell Shinohara-san definitively.

There was a brief pause, then the detective responded with, “Alright. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Kashiwagi chose this moment to pop up suddenly. “What? Are you two going for her? Does that make the three of us… rivals?” He sounded both surprised and concerned. “Rivals?”

Shin decided it was time to declare his own interest. “Sorry,” he apologized lazily, then turned to look at the men behind him with challenge in his voice. “But make that four of us.”

Without a backwards glance at his ‘rivals’, he found himself smiling as he ran down the hill to join the rest of 3-D. Yankumi welcomed him (as well as Tetsu and Shinohara) into the new game, then kicked the can as hard as she could. Unfortunately, it soared up the hill and hit the Vice Principal’s head before it ricocheted off of Minoru, bounced off Kuma, then ended up back where it started – in Yankumi’s hands.

They all looked up to see the Head Teacher glare at them dangerously, then heard Yankumi shout, “Run you guys! Run!”

“I’ll expel you all!” Head Teacher shouted as he raced down towards the fleeing students. The chase soon turned into a game of ‘Grab the Can and Run Away’, with adults and teens alike enjoying themselves. After a few hours flew by, Yankumi paused and turned towards the group behind her.

“You guys, follow me!” She declared, grinning breathlessly. “Let’s all graduate together!” She looked to the sky and lifted her fist into the air. Everyone raised their own fists and punched the air with her. “Oh!”

As Shin stood surrounded by yakuza members (who were somehow his friends), detectives (who somehow looked out for him), his teachers (who were somehow not so bad anymore), and his friends (who were undeniably idiots), he smiled at his crazy homeroom teacher (who he was somehow in love with), and couldn’t imagine a better day.


	13. Unofficial Onsen Outing

**Chapter Thirteen!**

**Sorry it’s been a while, but I have recently moved into a new house, which is now mostly unpacked, and plus, the special is nearly two hours long! Since the graduation special is a little over two episodes combined, I’m going to be posting them as separate chapters. If you haven’t seen the special this is based on, you can watch it at youtube dot com /watch?v=rc4ua2PBhzg.**

**Notes:**

**An onsen is a term for hot springs, as well as an inn built around hot spring. As a volcanically active country, there are thousands of hot springs (lakes or ponds heated naturally by the earth) all over Japan, and many inns built near them. Onsens can be anything from a large hotel, to a medium sized inn, to a little bed and breakfast. Going to an onsen is almost like a spa day, where the main point is to relax in the hot springs or the man-made heated baths, as onsens are said to have restorative healing powers. The men’s and women’s onsens are separated, though children are allowed in either, and traditionally, swimsuits are not worn in the hot springs (although people are expected to have showered or bathed before entering).**

**The legal smoking and drinking age in Japan is 20, so these guys are still two years off.**

**Also, rather than only test like the SAT or ACT, students in Japan usually take a standardized test, as well as the specific entrance exams for the universities they want to get into if they are applying for national or public schools. Private universities only require the student take their particular exam.**

**I’ll be posting the second half soon, but for now, read, enjoy, and please review!**

* * *

 

Shin was in a good mood.

Good moods were rare for him (though they were becoming less so), so he enjoyed it while he could. He couldn’t quite say why he was in such a happy mood, but it may have been a number of things. The fact that they were only a few days from graduation. The fact that it was the last day of class. The fact that their senior trip was coming up. The fact that Uchi had finally gotten rid of his annoyingly yellow hair. Or perhaps (and this was the most likely), it was because he had finally decided to stop worrying about his feelings for Yankumi.

After that fateful day of her resignation and his realization, some part of every day was spent arguing with himself about how ridiculous being in love with Yankumi was. First, love was a very strong word. It implied something serious, something lasting, something meaningful. He was eighteen for heaven’s sake – much too young to be thinking about such deep, significant things. Second, _Yankumi?_ What the hell was he thinking? She was five years older than him, she was a teacher, she was part of a yakuza family, and most importantly, she had shown no sign of returning, or even of being aware of his feelings. It was probably just a crush or something that would fade in time and would only embarrass him if he told anyone (especially Yankumi) about it.

So no more. He was going to leave everything alone and enjoy his last few days of school. Live in the moment. Stop worrying about the future. No more thinking about Yankumi or –

“Australia?!” The cries of his outraged friends brought him back to the present.

“Yup.” Minami grinned as he squeezed onto the picnic table bench.

“Like a prize trip overseas?” Uchi asked jealously.

Minami nodded. “Though it’s an unknown low-level university, my mom and dad got so excited and happy.”

“So cool.” His friends pouted in unison, while Kuma added, “I bet the food is delicious.”

“When do you go?” Shin asked, happy his friend had gotten into a university.

“We’re taking a ten day trip, starting today.” As soon as he heard that, Shin was about to ask about their trip when he was suddenly interrupted.

“From today?” Yankumi shouted as she popped up behind them, startling everyone and causing Uchi to fall off the table in surprise.

“Why are you here?” Minami demanded as Uchi stood back up and tried to look like he had fallen on purpose.

Ignoring his question, Yankumi continued, “You’re not coming to school from today?”

“Due to my dad’s business, we can only fly out today.” He leaned his head back to look at her upside down. “No problem right? Seniors don’t have any more classes.”

Impatient with all the interruptions, Shin grabbed Minami’s collar and dragged him away from prying ears.

“What about our plan?” He asked, wondering why Minami had blown it off so easily.

“Ah, sorry. Since my parents were so happy, I couldn’t refuse…”

Unhappy at being ignored, Yankumi pushed her way between them. “What is your secret talk?” She demanded suspiciously.

“None of your business.” Shin told her.

“Well, see to it Yankumi, okay?” Minami patted her shoulder, then took off.

“Rats! Don’t forget my souvenirs!” Uchi shouted after him.

“I’ll be happy with anything I can eat!” Kuma added to no one’s surprise.

Noda tilted his head and said, “I wonder why he came today.”

“See you at the Graduation Ceremony, Minami!” Yankumi cupped her hand and yelled.

“See ya!” Their friend waved, then hopped over the fence to freedom. They all shook their heads and waved back before Yankumi went to her staff meeting and the boys headed to the classroom. Once all the students had assembled, Kuma started passing out the fliers of information for their senior trip.

“3-D’s Graduation Trip to the Shuzenji Golden Dragon Inn!” The paper declared, decorated with a hand-drawn snowman melting into an onsen and a description of how much fun it would be.

“Don’t forget to come at 8:00 am!” Kuma reminded everyone as he handed them papers.

“Amazing. You printed this, too?” Oda asked with respect.

“Why not?” Noda asked, pleased at the admiration for his printing skills. “This is our Graduation Trip.”

“Man, I envy Minami,” Oda’s twin chimed in.

“Onsens are way better than koalas.” Kouhei announced.

“Ah, you’re jealous. It’s so obvious.” Uchi teased, and the surrounding classmates pointed at him in agreement.

“Is it really okay not to invite Yankumi?”

“She might get really mad if she found out.”

The class stopped to think about how true that last statement was.

“I think it’s okay.” Shin spoke nonchalantly, but everyone stared at him anyway. “She is a teacher, after all. We can’t fully enjoy ourselves with a chaperone.” _And I plan on enjoying every moment away from someone so… confusing._

“What a rare statement from Shin.” Uchi observed. “That we should fully enjoy ourselves.”

“Is that so?” He asked with a grin. Well, no more. From now on, no more thinking about things that are deep or involve the future. Or Yankumi.

“So we must make sure that Yankumi never knows about it.” Kuma told his classmates earnestly.

“Alright!” They chorused in happy agreement.

Just then, their missing classmates arrived, carrying baseball equipment and complaining about how much they hated the Vice Principal. When asked what happened, they explained that they had been lectured and threatened by the Head Teacher after they accidentally broke a window.

“He declared that he would expel anyone who causes any trouble. And he would fire Yankumi, too.”

Shin sat up a bit at that.

“Our trip might be dangerous?” Kuma asked rhetorically, staring at his flier.

“The rule book doesn’t say anything about trips.”

As the boys in 3-D worried about how dangerous their trip was, and if they were allowed to have alcohol and cigarettes, or to flirt with girls, Shin simply sat back and let his new resolution wash over him.

“It’s okay as long as they don’t find out.” He pointed out serenely. Once again, the class turned to gape at him.

“You’re right!” Noda declared, and the rest of the class nodded enthusiastically.

“Yankumi won’t lose her job as long as the school doesn’t know.” Rephrased Uchi with a grin.

Kuma stood up. “This’ll be the last time we can do silly things together. Let’s enjoy our graduation trip!”

Shouts of ‘Yay!’ echoed around the classroom as the door opened to reveal Yankumi. As soon as they saw her, everyone scrambled for their seats and sat as straight and still as possible. Any normal teacher would have been suspicious and guessed that their students were hiding something, but not Yankumi.

“Oh, great!” She smiled. “You guys finally understand that when a teacher comes in, you keep quiet.” Sighing happily, she made her way to her desk. “It’s a something I tried to achieve a lot with you guys.”

 “Yup! We owe it all to you, Yankumi.”

“We appreciate Yankumi from the bottom of our hearts.”

“You guys…” She started, then tried to hold back melodramatic tears at the distracting compliments. “You grew up to be responsible adults!”

Shin rolled his eyes and muttered, “Why are you so gullible?”

Gathering herself, Yankumi addressed the class. “Today is the last day of the 3rd semester.” Applause erupted from around the room. “But you haven’t graduated yet. There are a few days left. Anyhow, don’t do silly things – especially no fighting. If you get hospitalized, you can’t attend graduation. Everyone understand?”

“Yes!” 3-D chorused loudly.

She then spoke to the few last students who hadn’t gotten their university test results back yet. Noda, Oishi, Shimazu, Maeda, and Fujiwara had been complaining about how awful it was that their results came back last and how nervous they were, but Shin was sure they’d be alright.

After a few words of encouragement to the waiting boys, Yankumi faced the blackboard and led them all in a rousing shout.

“3-D, all of us are going to graduate together!”

“OH!” Everyone shouted, then grabbed their bags and ran out the door of their last day at school. Shin somehow got roped into coming with his friends to another party with strange girls that night, and made sure he was seated at the end in case he needed to escape quickly. The girls were fascinated and jealous that they were going to such a nice onsen for their trip, which led to some very quick invitations for the girls to come along.

 _It’s a good thing I know they’re joking_ , Shin thought.

“What do you want to do after graduation?”

He snapped his head up at the question, then relaxed when he saw Noda answer first. His relief and good mood started to dissipate as he heard how passionate all his friends were about their dreams and futures. Noda wanted to go to Art College and start his own designer brand. Kuma wanted to be a professional chef and improve his restaurant. Uchi was starting in construction and wanted to be an architect.

And him? He sighed and moved to a different table. He had no idea what he wanted to do. He was the valedictorian of Shirokin, had gotten into two very good universities, but still felt uncertain about his future.

“What about you, Sawada-kun?” A girl asked, interrupting his melancholy thoughts.

“Eh?”

“Shin got into Waseda and Keio University. Isn’t that awesome?” Kuma told the table in a proud voice.

“Which one did you chose?”

He sighed. “I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

“You are too cool. You have a choice! We envy you, Shin! Envy, envy, la-lala, la-la-la.” The table started a teasing song, while Shin moodily drank his soda. _You shouldn’t be. Having options but no dreams is worse than no options at all._

The next morning, all the seniors gathered at the bus stop and, despite the early hour, were loud and cheerful about enjoying themselves at the onsen. After a ride full of rousing songs and boyish games, they finally arrived. Pushing and shoving each other playfully, everyone stopped and stared at the giant onsen building.

“Wow! I feel like an adult!” Noda shouted as the boys behind him celebrated.

Five girls who worked at the onsen chose this moment to bow and welcome them to their temporary home. “We’ve been expecting you,” one of them said with a friendly smile. “Right this way.”

As she led them to their rooms, the boys started a joyful chant as they marched along. More celebration ensued when they finally arrived at the large common room they were renting, with boys tumbling over the tables and attacking the complimentary snacks. It wasn’t long before Noda caught Uchi staring at their onsen attendant as she poured tea, and more and more 3-D students joined in teasing him shamelessly.

“Hey, what’s your name?” Noda inquired of the hostess with wiggling eyebrows.

“My name is Wakaba.” The girl answered demurely, still pouring their tea.

“What do you think about him?” He asked, pointing at Uchi. “He comes highly recommended.”

“Shut up. I’m not for sale.” Uchi hissed at his friends, who only told him not to be shy and then bodily shoved him at the hostess. Uchi grinned nervously, sat up, and bowed apologetically towards the girl with a small embarrassed smile. Before they could do any more to mortify Uchi, the boys were distracted by a woman’s voice coming from outside.

“Sweet! Let’s go flirt with older chicks!” Takeda suggested to everyone’s approval.

Shin smiled as his classmates cheered the idea of meeting older women when he suddenly heard, “Wait for me!” in a desperate tone.

 _No. It can’t be…_ he thought to himself as he peered out over the deck. After scanning the grounds a few times, he laughed at himself and shook his head. “I thought I heard her voice.” He muttered to himself, then returned to his resolution to not think of her on this trip.

“Feel free to call me if you need anything,” Wakaba-chan was telling his friends as Shin rejoined the group.

“We will!” They chorused with not-so-subtle looks at Uchi.

“Then I’ll be leaving now.” She bowed and walked out, followed by a long glance from Uchi. When he looked back, all his classmates were smiling and snickering at him.

“Uchi, it was love at first sight.” Noda teased.

“What? No, not really, no.” Uchi responded weakly, which only made the boys laugh harder.

“You’re in love! You can’t hide it!” Kuma shouted at him.

“Nope, nope!” The rest of the group said in unison.

Shin smiled and rolled his eyes at all of them. “So easy to tell.” He said, though Uchi was out of earshot.  _Hey, you’re the one hearing her voice everywhere…_ his inner voice piped up before Shin determinedly ignored it.

“Onsen, onsen, time to go to onsen!” Oishi sang as the rest of 3-D came back from exploring their rooms. After a rousing shout of agreement, the boys grabbed towels and headed to the men’s onsen. Kuma volunteered to get beer from the vending machine while Shin opted out in favor of a nap. A good long nap in the middle of the day is exactly what he needed to get phantom voices out of his head.

He had just settled in when he heard two yells that sounded oddly like Kuma and Yankumi. He waited a few minutes, then shrugged and turned over. When he heard what sounded like every boy in his class shrieking like girls, he sighed irritably and got up. They were screaming like a dragon had wandered into their onsen.

He wasn’t far off.

Before he knew what was happening, all of 3-D was trooping back into the room, hair wet and clothes wrinkled, grumbling and complaining. Herding them into the room while shouting a stern lecture, was Yankumi herself.

The fact that his heart nearly burst with joy at the sight of her surprised Shin into realizing that he couldn’t just forget how he felt. They had been gone only half a day, and he was shocked by how much he had missed her. Even while she was chastising them.

“You took a secret graduation trip.” She stated the fact with loud disapproval in her tone. “What nerve to go wild away from my reach!”

“We haven’t gone wild yet,” Kuma interjected, which didn’t help matters at all.

“You were under arrest on the spot, Kuma.” She told him with a rebuking slap. The students around him joined in the abuse as well, since he had only made her angrier.

“Now, hand over all your alcohol and cigarettes.” She said authoritatively.

“Eh?” The boys shouted in disbelief.

“You actually have them?!” Yankumi asked in shock.

“Aww.” They mumbled as they realized they had fallen into her incredibly obvious trap.

The entire exchange was too much for Shin, who looked away and chuckled at how natural and ridiculous this situation was.

“Sawada, why are you giggling?” Yankumi snapped at him.

 _Living in the moment_ , he reminded himself, before replying rather cheekily, “Because I’m having fun.”

“Fun?”

“I’m having a good time with everyone, getting scolded by Yankumi.” Shin added a bit of smirk, ignoring the confused looks his classmates were giving him. He had missed her, she was back, and he realized he didn’t care if his friends heard him flirting. He did, however, want to see how Yankumi reacted.

She blinked rapidly, then looked at him with suspicion and (if he was reading her right,) a bit of embarrassment.

“Stop talking nonsense.” She muttered, and he thought there was a hint of a blush.

Trying to suppress a smile, he stood up and addressed the group. “Alright. Let’s surrender everything.” He unpocketed his pack of cigarettes, which he didn’t need now that he had given up trying not to think of Yankumi.

Groaning and grouching, the boys reluctantly took out their stashes of alcohol and cigarettes. Shin watched in amusement as Yakumi’s gape grew as the pile increased.

“You guys brought this much?” She muttered in shocked disbelief.

“Aw, what bad luck.” Uchi moaned, resting his chin on the table.

“Yankumi busted us again.”

“It’d have been a disaster if it was the Vice Principal.”

“That’s right!” Yankumi jumped in. “You could have been expelled.”

“But, we just wanted to have a good time together.” Noda said, hugging his knees.

Kuma chimed in sadly. “After graduation, we’ll be separated, you know.”

The rest of 3-D fell silent at this gloomy prospect. Shin hadn’t really thought about everyone splitting up until right then, and that made his uncertain future even more bleak.

He heard Yankumi sigh. “You’re right.” She said, the sprung up with newfound energy. “Well, as long as you’re all here, enjoy yourselves… but as high school students.” Turning to the ceiling with a wide smile, she shouted, “Ok. 3-D Graduation Trip Plan! Fight-oh! Oh!”

3-D did not, understandably, join in.

The rest of the day was spent wandering around, following Yankumi who seemed to keep changing her mind every five minutes. First she tried to take them to the Global Village, then halted all of them at a corner. Shin heard girlish voices coming closer, then saw Yankumi frown worriedly.

“This is bad. With such nice bodies… very harmful to my students.” She whispered, then turned and announced that the Global Village had completely and mysteriously disappeared. Despite Shin’s suspicions and the boys’ protests, she pushed them back the other way and led them towards the ping pong area.

When she halted them again, Shin rolled his eyes and tried to peek around the corner. He got a glimpse of some rough looking characters holding ping pong paddles before Yankumi declared that the ping pong tables were inexplicably gone as well.

“What?” The guys behind him demanded.

“What are you saying?” Shin hissed at her. If she wanted to keep them out of a fight, she had to come up with better lies than sudden disappearances.

“What? I don’t know.” She mumbled back, and Shin rolled his eyes. “Let’s go back to the room and discuss.” She told the rest of the class, then made ushering movements when they didn’t move right away. “To the room!” Even she didn’t sound convinced.

After much grumbling and complaining, the boys were told to assemble in one of the onsen’s large rooms. There was less complaining when Fujiyama-sensei and Kawashima-sensei arrived to assist Yankumi. They all sat at long, low tables, and saw a sign onstage that declared “3-D Quick Impersonation Contest.”

Yankumi walked up, said, “Here I go!” and proceeded with her impersonation. She took off her glasses, looked dramatically over her shoulder, then spoke in a serious tone. “Prepare to die.”

The boys stared blankly while Shin hid a grin. _Iwashita Shima from Wives of the Yakuza_ , he guessed silently. _So predictable, Yankumi._

“What was that?” Kuma asked.

“What? It’s Iwashita Shima-san. Haven’t you seen her ‘Gokutsuma’ movie series?” Yankumi asked in confusion.

When the silence stretched out, Fujiyama and Kawashima volunteered to go next, which received much more enthusiasm than their teacher’s performance.

Shin glanced over and saw her pouting angrily ( _and cutely_ , his inner voice added) at being passed over for praise. She went off to stand guard at the door, and the contest started getting fun. Classmates showed off talents Shin had never seen before, be that good or bad, and soon everyone was smiling and laughing. And so, the more innocent alternative to their vacation turned out to be just as fun, Shin thought, as what they had planned.

After he noticed Uchi check his watch for the third time, he looked over and asked what was up.

Uchi smiled a bit, then said, “Actually, I’ve got a date… with that waitress.”

“With Wakaba-chan?” Noda and Kuma asked with wide eyes.

“Hurry up and go!” Kuma told him.

Noda looked up at the entrance, where Yankumi had just turned around and apprehended three very unsneaky students who were reaching for the door. “I noticed all of you,” she rebuked them, then sent them back to their seats.

“Hmm, it’s kind of difficult to sneak out.” He observed.

Shin smirked. _Not if you know how to handle her_. “Be ready to leave at the signal.” His friends watched him stand up with confused stares.

Yankumi was watching the current performer fall on his face as he chased after his errant soccer ball.

“Ah! You’re stupid, aren’t you?” She laughed loudly as Shin walked up. He bumped her arm and motioned her to come closer. She leaned in as Shin whispered confidentially.

“Yankumi, I heard that Iwashita Shima-san was in the women’s onsen.”

She looked at him with wide eyes. “Is this true?”

He nodded solemnly. She paused a moment, then stared at him and said, “Sawada, I leave everything to you.”

Nodding again, he smiled as she rushed out the door. He glanced over at his friends, who were grinning in surprise, and they quickly joined him. When they made it outside, Shin, Kuma, and Noda sent Uchi off to his date, and they headed out for some fun.

They spent most of the night shopping, playing arcade games, and pulling Kuma away from the free samples. Kuma stopped them every now and then to snap a picture, when he wasn’t eating or shouting at the cool things they passed by. He and Noda were gaping and yelling at a train engine, when Shin realized that this was probably some of the last times they’d have like this. Even if he didn’t move on, his friends would find their own futures, make their own lives. Lives that didn’t involve him. He suddenly felt very alone.

Shaking his head to clear out the melancholy thoughts, Shin looked up determinedly. He was going to enjoy this time with everyone, and not dwell on the uncertain future. He wished Minami were here, so he could spend these last few days as a high schooler with all of his friends. A few more hours passed, and they finally decided to head back to the onsen. Shin wondered if Yankumi was still in the women’s onsen, waiting for her idol. He grinned at the thought.

“I wonder if Uchi is having fun with Wakaba-chan,” Kuma thought aloud.

“I bet he is.” Noda replied. “Maybe they’re kissing right now!” He started making kissy sounds at Kuma until Kuma shoved him away.

“Help!”

They stopped and turned towards the voice and the sound of running footsteps. It turned out to be Wakaba-chan, who shouted, “Uchiyama-kun is in trouble!”

Pausing only long enough to get the location from her and to send her back to the onsen, the boys took off to save their friend. They arrived just in time to see Uchi curled up on the ground and a group of older guys walking away.

“You bastards! What did you do to him?” Kuma demanded as they ran forward.

Noda bent down to check on Uchi while Shin glared at the gang.

“You’re all from the same school, aren’t ya?” One of them drawled.

“If so, what happens next?” Noda asked with fire in his eyes.

“I wonder if it’s okay to fool around at this time of night.” Another one said rhetorically.

“We should report this to the school, and their teacher should be called.” His buddy chimed in.

“Get out of here,” Noda growled, and Shin leapt forward to grab him.

“Wanna fight?” The first guy taunted.

“That’d be great.” Kuma shouted back, and Shin turned to stop him too.

“We can’t just let it go.” Noda told him angrily.

“Hands off!” Shin commanded, wondering if he was always the only one with a clear head. “You’ll get expelled if they report it.” He murmured to Noda.

“None of your business.” Noda hissed back.

“It _is_ our business!” Came a voice from the ground. They turned to see Uchi wincing as he choked out, “Yankumi might lose her job. We all have to graduate… together. That’s Yankumi’s dream, isn’t it?”

Shin sighed. It seemed he wasn’t the only one with a clear head. Uchi hadn’t fought back because he was trying to protect Yankumi and her dream. And that’s what they had to do too. “We can’t break her dreams.” He told the others, as well as himself. He clenched his fist and glared at the gang. _You’re all_ really _lucky we like our teacher_.

He didn’t like to remember what happened next. It was the first time in his life he didn’t fight back against an attack, and the first time he had ever let himself get beaten up by thugs. He tried to curse at her for getting him into this situation, to give his mind something else to think about, but the only real thing he could focus on was her happiness. If this would protect her, would keep her dream safe, would keep her happy, then he could take it. He did curse the fact that loving her made him do the strangest things. He started listing them while several blows landed on his ribs. Loving her made him write that freakishly long apology letter. Made him say that her thief-catching outfit looked fine. Made him voluntarily go to a study session on a subject he already knew. Made him stick up for her in front of his classmates. Made him tell her about his family.

Shin had just gotten to “made me spy on her omiai” when it seemed the gang members had enough. They delivered a few last punches, then dumped them on the ground and grabbed their wallets.

“What wimps!” One shouted as he walked away.

“Yeah, they’re nothin’.” Another agreed.

 _“Hold it right there!”_ An angry voice demanded from the other direction. The men stopped, while the boys used their last bit of energy to look over. Despite his bruises, Shin couldn’t help a grin as his knight in a shining blue tracksuit glared at their oppressors.

“Yankumi…” He breathed, then held back a painful cough. She was distracted from her death glare and knelt down next to him.

“Are you okay? Hold on, it’ll be alright.” She told them as she assessed their wounds.

“Sorry,” mumbled Kuma.

“You guys… why are you beaten up like this?” Shin was touched to see how very concerned she was.

“We can’t break our promise.” He told her as he struggled to sit up. She looked confused, as if she didn’t know that her challenge had become their promise.

“We must all graduate together.” Uchi explained weakly.

Shin watched her eyes fill as she managed to get out, “You guys…” He shook his head. She always worried about others, and never thought other people might worry about her. She looked down to hide her tears, then looked back up with steel in her eyes.

It hurt to turn his head and watch her confront the gang, but he did it anyways. This was the best part of her rescuing him. The punks who beat him up were about to get pounded by a teacher, and a female one at that. _Serves them right_ , he thought with a rather vicious satisfaction.

“How could you beat up people who weren’t fighting back?” She asked rhetorically. “What low life human beings!” The last words were spat out in contempt.

“Hey, don’t you know who we are?” The leader said, walking up and roughly yanking up her collar.

At this sign of attack, the remainder of 3-D shouted and rushed forward to come to the aid of their teacher.

“Hands off! Didn’t I tell you?” She shouted, effectively halting their stampede.

“Don’t be so brave!” The gang member mocked her and grabbed the other side of her jacket. With a quick joint lock, she twisted his wrist and tossed him to the ground. Her next attacker was stopped by a powerful sucker punch to the stomach. As the two formerly tough men limped back to the group, one of them looked up in fear.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Me?”

Shin smiled. _This_ was his favorite part.

“ _I_ am their homeroom teacher.”

“A teacher?”

“Teachers can do violence?”

“Violence? Don’t make me laugh! Violence is what you just did. Beating people just to hurt them.”

One of the standing men apparently didn’t appreciate her lecture. “Shut the hell up!” He cried, then ran at her. She planted one hand on his chest, the other on his back, and shoved. He executed a flip that an acrobat would be proud of, then slammed into the ground.

Shin watched in contentment as she seemed to flow through the group, stepping on knees and slipping out of grabs as if it were a choreographed dance. After delivering blows to each of them, she started collecting arms, and soon had them all in a unified arm bar.

“Now, hand over the money you stole from them.” She commanded calmly.

Wallets suddenly appeared with desperate cries of “Take them! Take it! I’m returning it!”

Yankumi released them, and 3-D cheered as the five men fled as if the Devil himself were chasing them. Everyone helped up their fallen comrades, and Yankumi turned to look at her bloodied students.

“You guys…” She said softly, and Shin couldn’t tell if it was a praise or rebuke.

“Sorry, my fault.” Uchi spoke in a hoarse tone.

“Now they know Yankumi is a teacher,” Noda said with a wince.

Kuma spoke up. “I’m afraid you might lose your job.”

She smiled proudly at them. “I can’t be a teacher if I’m afraid of losing my job. You saved an injured friend. On top of it, you didn’t fight back because you wanted to help me. What’s wrong with me protecting you? If that’s not acceptable, I’m willing to quit being a teacher.”

Everyone looked at her with pride and admiration, as she once again affirmed their belief that she was the best teacher they had ever had.

With a large grin, she walked up and starting ruffling the injured students’ hair. Even though it hurt, it was worth it, because that was her way of treating them like family. Like she loved them.

“You endured well! You did good! I’m so proud of you!” When everyone’s hair had been thoroughly mussed, she turned around and shouted to the sky, “Everyone, we’re gonna graduate together! OH!”

And this time, everyone joined in.


	14. Gokusen’s Graduation

**Chapter Fourteen! Who would have thought we’d make it this far?**

**So, this is the second part of the graduation special, and thus, the official end of the drama. But not for me! I’ll be writing at least two more chapters about what happens after Shin returns from Africa, because, let’s face it, we never got the closure that us ShinKumi people deserved.**

**Notes:**

**If a student fails the standardized test, or doesn’t get into the college they wanted, they can either accept admission somewhere else, forgo a college education and seek employment, or wait until the next year to retake the tests. Students who don’t pass are called _ronin_ , which literally means ‘masterless samurai’, or one who wanders. The term is used because students have no school to attend, in the same way that a masterless samurai has no leader to serve. (Like Kenshin! Anyone else seen the live action version? So awesome!)**

**I based the charity that Shin works with on an actual organization called ‘Building Schools for Africa’. Their goal is to ensure every child in Africa has a primary education by 2015. They’ve built 37 schools so far, mostly in Cameroon, and also provide clean drinking water and working latrines to improve the kids’ health. They involve the community in the projects so that the parents and people nearby are invested in building and maintaining the school, as well as teach the kids real life skills they can use to earn money, such as sewing or carpentry. If you want to learn more or donate, their website is schoolsforafrica dot co dot uk.**

**(Also, I apologize for the angstyness of this episode. It’s apparently not a special without lots of shouting and crying. I’ll try and keep it to a minimum.)**

**It’s been an awesome journey, and be sure to stay tuned for more! So please read, enjoy, and review with your thoughts or questions!**

* * *

 

Shin sighed. There were only five days before graduation, and the seniors had one last class to hear the results of everyone’s university exams. The results weighed heavily on everyone’s mind, including the Vice Principal’s, who had commanded Shin to come see him so they could ‘talk’. He rolled his eyes. No prizes for guessing what Head Teacher wanted to discuss. He sauntered into the teacher’s lounge, trying just to get it over with.

“Ah! Sawada!” Yankumi, who was sitting next to Vice Principal Sawatari, asked in surprise. “What’s up?”

“I summoned him,” Head Teacher said smugly. “Sawada, have you decided? Waseda or Keio?”

He sighed. “Not yet.”

The Vice Principal mimicked him. “Not yet.” He raised his eyebrow at Shin. “Decide as soon as possible.”

Shin rolled his eyes and walked away.

“Hey, Sawada!” Yankumi grabbed his shoulder and leaned in as if she was telling a secret. “If you can’t decide, you can talk to me anytime.” She beamed widely at him.

“Sure…” He mumbled, then headed for the door. Halfway there, he paused and looked back.

“You know, I…” He started.

“Hmm? What is it, Sawada?” She was still beaming at him.

“I…”

_I what? I don’t know where to go? I don’t know what to choose? I don’t want to go to either one? I want do something different, but I don’t think I can? I think about you all the time? I love you?_

“What is it?” She asked, with that clueless, absurdly enthusiastic smile that plainly said she had no idea he was in love with her.

He looked at her for a long moment, wishing she knew, glad that she didn’t, and feeling as helpless and unsure about his feelings as he did his future. He sighed and gave up. “Nevermind.”

“No reservations!” She proclaimed.

“I’m fine.” He growled, and left.

“Any time, you hear?” She shouted cheerfully at his back.

It was then that things started to go from bad to worse.

While Maeda and Fujiwara had made it into a university, Noda, Oishi, and Shimazu had not. When the last three arrived, they at first tried to put on a brave face.

“Good morning!” Noda announced with a tight smile. “Noda Takeshi failed the Mikado Art College exam.”

Oishi also attempted to grin. “I flunked, too. Shin Nippon Heisei University.”

Shimazu nodded. “Me, too.”

“I became a ronin.” Noda said, making his way to his seat. While the other guys patted him on the back and told him to cheer up, Uchi suddenly turned to Kuma.

“Kuma, you brought them, right?”

“Eh?”

Uchi whacked his head. “Don’t ‘eh’ me. The pictures from our graduation trip.”

“Oh yeah! Hang on,” Kuma replied, and with some digging in his bag, produced the photos. Everyone nearby grabbed some and laughed.

“Ah, that was fun.”

“Yeah, I want to go again. With everyone.”

“Hey, why not?” Kuma shouted. He turned around to look at Noda. “As a class reunion trip!”

“I second that.”

“How about the second week of May?”

“I’m coming!”

But Noda and the others were unresponsive. Uchi caught Kuma’s gaze and motioned to their dejected friend. Kuma nodded, and went over to show Noda the pictures.

“Hey, these turned out to be great.” He commented, and offered them to Noda.

Noda surprised everyone by knocking the pictures out of Kuma’s hand. “I don’t wanna. I ain’t got time for this.”

The class stared for a moment, and Shin narrowed his eyes. Kuma nodded in understanding. “Sorry.” He said, then bent down to pick up the scattered photos.

“Hey,” Uchi stood. “You don’t have to be so nasty. Kuma just wanted to cheer everyone up.”

“Isn’t this what we call ‘mind your own business’?” Voiced one of the guys from what was quickly becoming the ronin side.

Shin saw Uchi tense up. “What did you say?” He growled.

“Chill.” Shin interrupted. He didn’t want this last day to be ruined by a fight. Uchi took a breath and sat back down.

“I pass.” Kechi spoke up in the uneasy silence. “I can’t go on a class reunion trip.” He rolled his soccer ball around his desk nonchalantly as he shot the well-meaning idea down.

“I’m going to get a job. Can’t be an easy-going student anymore.”

“I’m a ronin, so I got to study harder.” Oishi said with a slight mocking edge to his words.

“I wish I were a ronin, too.” Hosokawa drawled. It seemed provocation wasn’t just limited to the ronin side.

Shimazu kicked a trash can out of his way. “Is that sarcasm?” He demanded angrily.

“Not at all.” Hosokawa explained, “Our household can’t afford to have a ronin student. I didn’t get into the university I wanted, anyway.”

“At least you can go!” Shouted Kechi.

Words were quickly growing in volume and anger as more and more students stood up and the rift between the ronin and the university students grew larger.

“Stop it!” Kuma shouted, standing in the middle of the groups. “Everyone has his own problems.”

Uchi tried to help. “There are some who couldn’t advance to the track they wanted to take. You should be considerate.” He told his own side, who nodded in apology.

“Considerate?” Noda’s tone was bitter. “Apparently, you have no problems.”

“What?” Uchi spoke through his teeth.

“Pitying us?” He needled.

“No, that’s not it.”

“Then what?”

“Uchi is just worried about you,” Shin said, trying to defuse the situation. “You understand?”

“No, I don’t. Unlike Shin, I’m not _clever_.” Noda replied snidely.

“Why did you say that?” Kuma asked, distressed that his friend was acting this way.

Shin stood and shouted, “You guys, stop it already.” He took a breath, then lowered his voice. “There’s nothing to gain from quarreling.”

“It’s bad to quarrel, isn’t it?” Senzoku leered at Shin. “Yankumi might lose her job.”

A jolt of pure anger ran through him at that. Before Shin could decide if he wanted to control the flash of rage he felt, Noda stood as well.  

“A honor student is different from us. He thinks highly of teachers.”

Kuma knew that was out of line. “Hey, Noda!”

“Yankumi has nothing to do with us once we graduate.”

Shin could only repeat something that ridiculous in disbelief. “Nothing to do…”

“Once we graduate, we go our own ways.”

“That’s not true.” Shin tried to argue.

“It is true.” Noda rebutted. “You are an elite and we are drop-outs.”

“What’s that got to do with this? We’re friends, aren’t we?” He demanded, trying to stop everything from escalating to something serious.

“Friends? You’re laughing at us anyway. You think we’re lower than you.” Noda called out.

Shin walked forward, trying to keep his breathing steady. “You’ve been thinking that the whole time?” He asked, wanting to know if their whole friendship had been nothing but resentment.

“Yeah. I have.” Noda answered him in a jeering tone.

Shin had had enough. Enough of everything in his world spinning out of control. Enough of feeling helpless and frustrated, and of having one of his closest friends toss away their friendship like it meant nothing. With no thoughts of the future, or consequences, or what Yankumi would think, he pulled back and punched Noda in the face.

3-D quickly dissolved into a full-on brawl. Everyone had someone they were shoving or pushing or punching or kicking. Shin and Noda kept getting separated, then going at it again. It was then that Yankumi arrived, and made her own way through the mob until she got to the two main combatants.

“Noda! Sawada! Break it up! Stop it! What is going on?” She demanded as she pulled them apart. Noda ignored her, glared at Shin, then marched off, punching the door on his way out. The rest of the ronins followed him, kicking desks and shoving classmates.

“Sawada, what happened?”

“Nothing,” he told her shortly, making his own way out _. Figure things out on your own for once, without me helping you,_ he thought bitterly.

He left the school campus and just kept walking, stamping the ground as if this was its fault. There were so many things that were out of his control, that frightened and frustrated him, that made him feel helpless. His future. His feelings for Yankumi. His friendship with Noda. And since he couldn’t do anything about any of them, he just kept walking.

“Shin! Shin!” He came out of his angry reverie and realized that he had walked instinctually all the way to the Sakura River with Kuma and Uchi trailing after him.

“Hey, Shin!” Kuma continued shouting. “What’s going on?”

“Yeah, you’re acting strange.” Uchi agreed in a loud tone.

Shin took a breath and stopped. He looked back at his friends, who were wearing identical expressions of worry. He had forgotten that Noda was their friend too.

“Sorry,” he apologized when they caught up to him. “It’s just…” He tried to find a way to articulate his storm of emotions and couldn’t. “…everything.”

Kuma and Uchi nodded in understanding, and all three sat down and stared at the river as it flowed along, trying to think of a solution to their problem.

He didn’t know how long he sat there, but the sudden sound of his phone ringing jolted him back to reality. Pulling it out of his pocket, he paused, staring at the name flashing on his screen. He considered ignoring it, pretending he didn’t hear it, but even as the thoughts crossed his mind, his hand was already pressing the ‘accept’ button. Even his subconscious was fighting him.

“Yankumi,” he started, ready to tell her to stay out of his business.

“Shin! It’s about Noda!” Whatever he was about to say flew out of his head.

“Noda?” He asked, and Uchi and Kuma turned to him with apprehensive looks.

“He and some others got caught destroying a sign, and the manager called the police, and they got caught, and Head Teacher just called me in and I’m almost there and I wanted to tell you because I don’t know what’s happening to him or you and I just-”

“Yankumi,” He interrupted her firmly. “Breathe.” After he heard a shaky breath through the phone, he told her, “I’ll be right there.”

Standing, he looked towards his worried friends. “Noda and the others got caught by the cops destroying a sign. They’re at the school now.”

“Let’s go,” Uchi said, and all three boys ran towards the school.

They rushed in right as Yankumi was bowing deeply in apology to Head Teacher. Shinohara and his partner were there as well, though they didn’t look as serious as the Vice Principal did.

“They were just a bit too rowdy,” Kashiwagi told the teachers.

Shinohara walked forward. “They won’t make it a big issue of it as long as the students are sorry. I’ll leave the rest of it to the school.”

Head Teacher sat down and nodded, then shouted at the seven students lined up behind him, “Don’t come to school anymore.”

Everyone looked at each other with wide eyes. “Expelled?” Yankumi asked in a low, frightened tone.

“No, I won’t expel them. I want them to be confined at home until they graduate.”

“House arrest?”

“If they can do that, I promise that they can graduate. _Obviously_ , they can’t attend the ceremony.”

“Wait, Vice Principal-”

“We can’t afford them causing trouble that day.” He interrupted, staring at Yankumi.

She refused to back down. “Now, wait just a minute-”

“Since they can receive their diplomas, they should be thankful.” Minion Washio piped up with a significant look at the surly group.

“I understand,” Noda said in a tone Shin recognized as dangerous. “I won’t be coming.”

With that, he headed for the door, followed by the rest of the ronins and a very anxious Yankumi.

She kept pleading with them as she pushed through to the front, where Noda was. “Guys, wait, let’s just talk to the Vice Principal again, I’m sure that-”

“I don’t want to attend the ceremony if I have to beg the Vice Principal.”

“You _have_ to attend!” She moved in front of the group, halting their progress, staring at them with imploring eyes.

“Why the hell should we? What do I care?” Oishi asked in a nasty tone.

“Yeah, we can graduate anyway. That’s good enough.” Senzoku added callously.

“No it’s not.” A firm voice came from the back, and everyone turned to see Shinohara standing behind them. “That’s not right and you know it.” He rebuked them while he walked forward. “You all know how much Yamaguchi-sensei worries about you.” He looked at Noda, then nodded towards Shin and the others. “Your friends are worried too.”

And while he was worried about Noda, Shin could help a mental _Dammit_ , since Shinohara was now even more ahead in Yankumi’s affections.

Ignoring the odd mixture of respect and resentment towards the older man, Shin looked at Noda to see if his words had any impact. Noda met his eyes, then glanced over at Uchi and Kuma. For a moment, Shin thought Noda might change his mind. But then, he could see the bitterness take over.

“Friends? Who the hell cares about that?” He said in a tight voice, then brushed by his hurting teacher. Before they had gotten more than a few steps away, she spoke in a soft tone that cut through the air.

“Minami gave up university.”

Everyone from both sides stared at her in surprise.

“Why?” Kuma asked.

“He studied so hard to pass the exam.” Uchi was confused as well.

“He called me. His father’s company went bankrupt.” Shin’s eyes widened as several things fell into place.

“I could tell how shocked he was when he found out, but his voice didn’t show it. It was exactly the same as always. He’s still looking forward.” She took a breath and stepped toward Noda and his group. “I understand how you feel. You feel angry, you feel like it’s unfair. But there is no one in life who doesn’t have trouble. Everyone is equal in that. You guys are only 18. You have exams or need jobs, which forces you to decide your future now. But it’s not that simple. You go off track, struggle, then you stop, go somewhere else, try something different, and come back again. Isn’t that how we live our lives? Isn’t that how we find our own way?”

Shin could tell she was on the brink of tears as she begged Noda, “Please don’t give up so easily. Don’t run away from the hardships. Please don’t answer the most difficult question in life like this.”

Noda let out a long breath that told Shin he was close to tears as well. But he still turned away and told his group, “Let’s go.”

Uchi and Kuma called after their friends, while Shin and Shinohara stood silently and watched Yankumi stare after her students with hurt, disappointment, and worry. Before either of them could say anything, she too, walked away.

As he headed home, Shin couldn’t help but hear her words echo in his mind. _“You go off track, struggle, then you stop, go somewhere else, try something different, and come back again. Isn’t that how we live our lives?”_

He slowed, then stopped. _She’s saying we can make mistakes, we can figure things out as we go. We don’t have to decide everything about our future right now._ And as that sank in, he suddenly turned and ran the other direction. It was time to make his own decisions.

It had started a few days after he got back from the onsen trip. He was heading to the store for some more food, when he saw a large banner declaring that a job fair was being held in a nearby building. He stopped and stared at it, then shrugged and figured it couldn’t hurt. It’s not like he had any idea what he wanted to do, and if it was boring, he’d just leave.

So he followed the signs to the center, and walked through the doors. There were people everywhere. Some kids his age or younger, some adults a few years older, and everyone was dressed professionally and walking around purposefully. Taking a breath, he started making the circuit. There were booths and stalls for marketing, sales, accounting, publishing, engineering, computer science, and some jobs he hadn’t even heard of. There were a few schools there as well. The medical school booth had at least twenty people gathered around it, and the guy at the law school booth looked like a weird version of Shinohara. Shin shuddered and quickly moved on.

He was about to give up and leave when he spotted a small, hand-made banner above a stall in the corner. The man attending the booth wore casual clothes, only had a few brochures out, and looked at once alert and relaxed. Shin was about to walk past him as well, but the banner kept catching his eye.

‘Make a Difference’ it said. Nothing else. Shin looked around. Every now and then, someone would walk up, talk to the guy for a moment, then leave. Curiosity piqued, Shin finally made his way over. The man behind the table looked up at him.

“Can I help you?” He asked with a smile. Shin glanced up at the banner, then down at the brochures. They also said ‘Make a Difference’ at the top, but they had the information Shin was looking for.

“Africa?” Shin repeated while reading the paragraph to himself.

“Yup.” The man’s smile grew. “I’m part of a charity organization based in Africa. My name’s Takahashi Kaito.”

“What do you do there?” Shin asked.

The man shrugged. “Build, educate, save lives; pick one.” When Shin only looked confused, he laughed. “We build elementary school for kids, mostly in Cameroon. We repair the buildings we can, rebuild those we can’t, and set it up so the kids have teachers, books, and drinking water. We make sure the community is involved so it doesn’t fall apart when we leave, and try to help where we can.”

He waited for a response, but after a minute or two passed with Shin still looking at the brochure, he raised his eyebrow and said, “You know, this is usually where you tell me that you give to lots of other charities and leave before the guilt overwhelms you.”

Rereading the paragraph again, Shin looked up. “Does it?”

“Huh?”

He pointed at the sign. “Make a difference.”

Kaito gave Shin a sharp look, then nodded. “Yes. I’ll tell you though, because you look like you can take it, it’s hard work. We don’t just work for a week, then leave. It’s a six month commitment, at the least. We can help fund half the plane ticket, if you need it, and once you’re there, we don’t pay you, but we give you a place to sleep and three square meals a day. A lot of people aren’t cut out for it, giving up everything you have so you can work long and hard for people that might not thank you, and persevering for months when sometimes it feels like nothing’s getting done, but in the end – yeah, we make a difference. And that’s what counts.”

Shin had to digest that for a moment. What he was saying sounded so… familiar.

Suddenly, Kaito stood up. “Tell you what.” He grabbed a pen and a brochure. “Here’s my number and email. You go home, do some research, think it over, talk to your family, then give me a call if you’re up for it.”

Shin accepted the paper with a single question. “Why?”

He smiled again. “Because you look like you know what I’m talking about.”

Staring at the floor a moment, Shin replied, “I know someone like that.” He took a step, then looked back. “Thanks.”

Kaito smiled. “No problem.”

The brochure had been sitting on his table, next to the exam results from Waseda and Keio, for over a week. He had only taken the entrance exams because his father had talked about them every year since Shin was in junior high. Every time he looked at that table, he saw all the options for his future. The universities were a symbol of everyone else’s expectations. His father, his teachers, Vice Principal. If he went, he would only be going to school for the sake of going to school. He didn’t have a purpose, a vision, a dream to accomplish by going there, besides doing what other people expected of him.

_“You go off track, struggle, then you stop, go somewhere else, try something different, and come back again. Isn’t that how we live our lives?”_

Yankumi didn’t expect it of him. She wanted him, all of them, to find their own paths, to figure out their own way. To try new things, to go somewhere different, to explore options.

After weeks of indecision, Shin had made up his mind. Now, he had to go tell his family. With Yankumi’s words still echoing in his mind, he ran towards his parents’ house. The guard let him past with a well contained look of surprise, and he walked up to the door. He took a long breath, then knocked. His mother answered the door, and when she saw Shin, her eyes lit up.

“Shin!”

“Hi Mom,” he started, then took another breath. “Is Dad home? There’s something I wanted to tell you both.”

“Oh, of course! Why don’t you wait in the living room, and I’ll go get him.” She smiled at him and then headed upstairs.

He sat on the couch gingerly, trying to ignore his anxiety. A few moments passed, and then he heard footsteps from upstairs.

“Now remember what we talked about,” He thought he heard his mother whisper.

“I know, I know.” His father replied, then cleared his throat.

Shin didn’t have much time to consider how odd that was, since by the time he realized it was strange, his father had already made his way down the stairs.

“Your mother said you have something to tell us.” Senator Sawada said as he settled into his chair. Shin’s mother sat beside him on the couch.

“Yes.” He swallowed, then spoke as clearly as he could. “You’ve probably heard that I got into Waseda and Keio University.”

“We did. We’re so proud,” His mother smiled. “Did you choose one yet?”

“Well, actually, I’m not going to either. I don’t want to go to university.” There was a very long moment of complete silence. Shin gathered himself, then bowed in his father’s direction. “I’m sorry. Please accept my decision.”

He waited.

He waited for his father to shout, to blame him, to curse at him, and eject him from the family all over again. He had worked out a great response to shout back, that involved telling his father that he was a stubborn old man who never cared about anyone besides himself, and if he kept acting this way he would lose everyone who was-

“Alright.”

Shin had already taken a breath to start his rant before he realized what his father had said. He looked up in confusion. “What?”

His father let out a controlled breath. “Is there something else you wanted to do?” And while the words were tightly spoken, they sounded… sincere.

Staring, Shin blinked a few times in shock. “I… there’s an opportunity to build schools in Africa. It’s a six-month commitment, but… I think it’ll be good. There’s no pay, but they feed you and help you with the plane ticket. I’ve researched them and they really help people.” He met his father’s gaze more confidently. “I want to go.”

The Senator was carefully examining the coffee table. “Volunteer work, hmm?” He took another breath and looked up. “Well, it’s a dangerous place, so don’t go wandering off without thinking. And we’ll take care of the ticket. Don’t want people to say we’re taking money from a charity. When do you leave?”

“A week after graduation.” He said slowly, still waiting for something to snap.

His father stood and nodded. “Well, be sure you write to your mother so she knows you’re alive. Like I said, it’s dangerous there, so be sure you use your head. And let us know when you get back.”

Shin rose from the couch as well, feeling like this was all a bit surreal. The Senator sighed, then bowed slightly. “Goodbye.” He said firmly, and nodded at Shin decisively. Shin instinctively bowed back, then watched his father leave.

His mother smiled at both of them, then took Shin to the kitchen and offered him dinner. Shin thanked her, but said he should really head home.

“I’ll walk him out!” Natsumi volunteered as she jumped out from behind the wall she used for eavesdropping. The two siblings made their way outside, and once they were out of the guard’s earshot, Shin turned to his younger sister in confusion.

“What the hell was that?”

She laughed and knew exactly what he meant. “I don’t know if it was you, or that teacher of yours, but something got through to him. I mean, it’s not like he changed overnight, but it’s weird… he’s trying to change. Mostly it just makes him uncomfortable, but he _asks_ about my life. And actually listens! Did you notice that Mom was happier, too?”

Shin nodded.

“I like to think that it was your Yankumi, but whatever the reason, he’s getting better. He’s… trying to show he cares more, I think. Anyway, _Africa_? How did you decide that?”

They spent some time talking, but after Shin promised to write to her, and to bring her back a souvenir, and to be careful, he finally said goodnight. He walked home and fell into bed, looking forward to sleeping through the weekend. He woke up the next morning with the niggling feeling that he forgotten something. After puzzling through it, he realized that he still had to tell the school of his decision.

“Might as well get it over with,” he muttered to himself as he got dressed and walked over. The Vice Principal was there, and looked up excitedly when Shin came into the teacher’s lounge.

“Ah, Sawada. So, which university did you decide on? Do you think they would mind us advertising that one of our students actually got in to-”

“I’m not going to either one.” He interrupted the Vice Principal’s vision of making money off of him.

“Eh?” Head Teacher asked in a flabbergasted tone, but Shin was already leaving. “Eeehhh? Sawada! Come back here this minute! Come ba-”

Shin closed the door and cut off the rest of Head Teacher’s shouts. He strolled in the direction of his apartment, then realized that the first thing Head Teacher would do (once he stopped yelling) would be to call Yankumi. And the first place she would look for him was by the river.

With a slight smile, he set his jacket on the grass, leaned back, and went to sleep.

“Sawada!” He woke to hear her calling his name with a strange feeling of déjà vu. One of his strongest memories was back in the beginning of the year, when he still didn’t know who she was, or why she acted the way she did, and how annoyed he was when she shouted at him from the bridge. He grinned. Now, hearing that same voice resulted in completely different feelings.

He looked up to see her running towards him in her normal clothes. Suppressing his smile at the fact that she had come to talk to him dressed as Kumiko, he sat up and waited for her to reach him.

“The Vice Principal called me. He was very upset.”

Shin scoffed a bit, then turned to her. “Are you in trouble?” He was worried that the Vice Principal might have taken his frustration out on her, but Yankumi shook her head.

“No, but… you decided it by yourself.” She sounded a little hurt that she was left out. “Was there any particular reason?”

He sighed, then tried to find the best way to explain everything to her. “I’ve been… uneasy and irritated lately. I hit Noda because of that. I’ve been jealous of the others. My friends have their own hopes and dreams, and I realized that I didn’t have any. I had no dreams. To please my father, I studied and took the entrance exams.” Sighing, he stood and walked to the edge of the riverbank. “Last night, I apologized to my father for the first time. I told him that I’m not attending university, and asked him to please accept my decision.” He breathed a ghost of a chuckle, and turned to Yankumi. “He said okay.”

Yankumi’s eyes widened. Shin smiled a bit. Even she was surprised.

“I was full of rebellious energy, but he accepted it so easily. I got kind of disappointed.”

She saw through his words, and smiled as well. “What a good, understanding father he is.” She said, walking up to stand beside him.

“You think so?” He asked rhetorically, staring at the river.

“What’s your plan after graduation?” Coming from her, the question was gentle, sincere.

“In Africa, there’s an opportunity to build an elementary school. There’s no pay, but meals are provided three times a day. Other than that, there are jobs to dig wells, and lots more to do.”

“Lots of volunteer work, I’m sure,” She replied, glancing at him.

He laughed as he sat back down. “It’s less than that.” He wasn’t just going to feel good about himself, but for selfish reasons; to find his own path. “I want do things that I’ve never done before, at places I’ve never been to.”

“I see,” she nodded as she sat on the ground.

“There’s always the possibility that I might find things I really want to do for the rest of my life.” He made a rueful face. “Maybe not.”

Yankumi turned to him earnestly. “I bet you can find it, as long as you look straight forward, and keep on searching.”

He glanced at her, once again overwhelmed by how much he loved her, then looked away. “I remember when you told us, ‘Life is not so easy to decide. You never know how it turns out to be, but you have to keep trying’.” She stared at him in surprise, as if she never expected anyone to remember her words. He stared at the sky and finished, “That’s what Yankumi said. It helped me realize what I really want.”

Shin shifted, then kept his eyes on his watch. A very soft “Sawada,” came from his left, and he knew that if he met the look that accompanied that voice, he would probably ignore the other reason he was leaving for Africa and do something stupid.

He took a breath and changed the subject. “But, our high school graduation only comes once in a lifetime. I wish… I want to graduate with all my friends. Together.”

Yankumi sighed, and both of them sat on the riverbank, worrying together. And Shin thought, if he had to worry, this was the best way – sitting peacefully with Yankumi.

Eventually, they both noticed the sun about to set. Before Shin could enjoy the fact that they were watching the sunset together, Yankumi stood and told him she needed to head home. She said goodbye and turned away too quickly to see the disappointment flash across his face.

 _One day_ , he thought as he watched her walk down the path _, we will watch the sunset together. And we won’t have to say good bye at the end._

The day before graduation was spent in gathering all of 3-D together. Shin had spread the word for all of his classmates, ronins or not, to meet in the warehouse district that night. He didn’t know if this would work, but if there was anything he learned from Yankumi, it was to try anyway.

Nearly everyone arrived, minus Matsudaira, who was late for some reason, and they all sat and waited for Noda and the others to show up. When the others did arrive, they strolled in as if they owned the place.

“If you need something, tell me straight out. We’re kind of busy.” Noda drawled as he walked up to Shin.

Shin ignored that and met his friends gaze with a look of his own. “I wanted to apologize.”

Noda blinked in surprise. “Forget it,” he answered, shifting his weight uncomfortably. “Is that all?”

“I want you to come to tomorrow’s graduation ceremony.”

Oishi stepped forward. “Don’t call me out here for such a stupid thing.”

Kuma matched his pace. “We want to graduate together!”

Noda shrugged. “How long do you want to play friends?”

“We got tired of such kiddy stuff,” Senzoku remarked, also moving towards Shin.

Uchi came up and grabbed his collar. “Kiddy stuff?” He repeated roughly.

Shin pushed them apart. “Stop,” he told them, then glanced back at Noda. “We want to receive diplomas together!” He shouted, trying to get it through their thick heads.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“We don’t wish to attend.”

“Shut up!” Uchi yelled. “To graduate together… didn’t we promise?”

“It’s the last time we can be a part of 3-D.” Shin said.

“What do I care?” Noda replied.

“I have other appointments.” Shimazu added.

“Cut it out!” Kuma warned.

“Just leave it alone.”

“We can’t!” Shin responded. Before he could say anything else, Yankumi raced in, followed by Matsudaira.

“You guys! What are you doing?” She shouted as she ran up to them.

“Nothing,” Noda told her shortly, trying to leave.

“Hold it right there!” She commanded, blocking their path. “You think it’s fine to be separated from everyone? Like you can’t communicate with each other, like rubber balls, bouncing away from your friends?”

“Who cares? We’ll be separated anyway.” Noda said dismissively.

“High school friendships are just for high school.”

Yankumi stared in disbelief. “Just?”

“After graduation, we say goodbye. That’s all there is to it.”

“That’s not-”

“Yankumi,” Hazama interrupted. “Let it go.”

Hattori agreed. “Everyone’s made up their mind.”

“We’re all different anyway,” Noda told her. “Our way of living is different. Our way of thinking is different. We can’t pretend to be the same any more. We were together in the same school for three years. That’s all. Friends? Relationships? Don’t impose them on us anymore!” He shouted, and Shin could see how much those words hurt her.

After a few moments of sniffing and trying not to cry, Shin saw her look up, then saw her arm draw back. Before he could say anything, Noda was on the ground with the sound of her punch echoing in the warehouse.

She forced him to look at her, and tried her best, with both tears and words, to show him that the friendships he had here were so much more than what he was saying. She pleaded with him to see that cutting off these friends meant losing something he couldn’t replace.

Standing, she addressed the rest of the group. “And you? What do you say?” When no one answered, she glared back at the ronin group. “Noda, when you were at the bottom, everyone got together and solved your problem. When Sawada was in deep trouble, everyone got together to back him up. When I was almost fired, you all got together and saved me! Because you were there, I can be here as I am today. We fought so many obstacles together! That’s what friends are supposed to be.”

As he saw Yankumi finish, tears flowing down her cheeks, he stepped up.

“I met Minami today. Why do you think he lied about Australia? His father’s company went bankrupt. He couldn’t even think of a graduation trip! But he didn’t want us to worry. He wanted us to enjoy our trip. You understand why he lied. And you still don’t understand this? You still don’t get it!?”

Silence reigned over the warehouse.

“He thinks of us as important friends! Minami is still thinking that we’re all going to graduate together tomorrow! And you…” He stared at his friend. “Noda!”

Noda met his gaze, then angrily turned away. “Shut up!”

He walked out of the building with his group following him. One by one, the others left too. Until only Yankumi and Shin were left, wondering how it had come to this. On his way home, he stopped and simply watched the snow fall, praying that somehow, tomorrow would turn out alright.

Graduation day dawned, and part of 3-D showed up at the classroom, waiting until they were called. Everyone noticed who was not there.

“Yo!” A voice came from the doorway.

“Minami!” The class greeted him. He gave high fives and teased Kuma as he made his way in. The smiles disappeared when Minami saw the empty desks.

He glanced at Shin. “They’re really not coming?”

“Afraid so.” Shin answered softly. A depressed quiet settled over the room.

Minami, being Minami, tried to cheer everyone up. “Well, at least we all have a lot to look forward to! Uchi! I heard you got a job at a great construction place, right?”

Uchi smiled ruefully and sat down, “Actually, not anymore. It got revoked.”

Shin narrowed his eyes. “You job offer got canceled?” He repeated.

“Why?” Minami asked.

“The store that got their sign destroyed is a good customer of the company that offered me a job.” Uchi grinned tightly. “They think I’m a member of the same gang as Noda and the rest. So anyone from Shirokin must be eliminated to keep them happy.”

As various curses rumbled through the classroom, Yankumi skidded through the door. “Uchiyama!” She called as she went up to his desk. “Is this true?”

Uchi tried to laugh. “Oh, you know already, Yankumi?” He looked around the room. “But don’t tell them anything, please. They may mind.” He was regarded with multiple looks of disbelief. “If someone I didn’t know had done it, I would have crushed him. But it was done by my friends, so…”

Before he could finish, Yankumi marched back to the door. When the boys called after her, she turned and said, “I cannot let it go.”

As she walked out, Shin waited all of two seconds to run after her. With that look in her eyes, he didn’t really know what she might do. Pushing past all of the arriving parents and bowing teachers, all of 3-D ran towards the construction company’s headquarters, ignoring the Vice Principal shouting after them. They ran and ran, and finally arrived at the stockyard. But as they rounded a corner, everyone suddenly stopped. There, in front of the owner, were all eight ronin students.

“Please!” They heard Noda ask. “Please do not cancel Uchiyama’s job offer!”

“We destroyed the sign.”

“He has nothing to do with us.”

The owner looked at the gathered boys and said, “I still can’t accept it. If he’s a friend of such violent students, our customers will think he’s the same. Therefore, we had no choice.”

Noda swallowed, then looked up determinedly. “Though we are low-life students, Uchiyama is different. He loves his mom more than anybody, and he wants his mother to work less. He said he’d be a carpenter to help her.”

“He thinks of his friends before himself.”

“He doesn’t talk well, but he’s a good-hearted guy.”

“Please reconsider!”

“Please! We beg of you!” And they all bowed deeply.

“Isn’t today your graduation? How come you snuck out of it?” The owner asked, puzzled.

“Because he’s our friend.” Noda answered, then met the man’s gaze. “Because we’re friends. Please, would you please reconsider?” Again, they all bowed in supplication.

Shin, who couldn’t stand by anymore, ran to join his friends. The owner looked rather alarmed at seeing over a dozen teenaged boys run up, but then looked even more confused when Shin said, “Please reconsider,” and bowed as well.

“Please!” Kuma added.

“Uchiyama’s future depends on this job.” Minami told him. “Please reconsider!” And at that, the rest of 3-D bowed as well. Shin could see Noda look at everyone with a mix of apology and confusion, then burst into a wide smile.

“Please reconsider!” He said again, then joined Shin. A small glance to the side revealed Yankumi silently crying with pride in the background.

“Uchiyama-kun,” the owner asked, “What is the meaning of this?”

Uchi bit his lip, then realized that he couldn’t quite explain what had just happened. “I’ll do my best,” he promised instead. “I won’t give up, no matter how hard any of the jobs might be. So… please reconsider!”

The group of boys, who had turned to watch the exchange, copied Uchi and once more shouted, “Please reconsider!” while bowing.

The owner, who looked rather overwhelmed at this point, finally sighed and said, “You win.”

All twenty six boys glanced up in surprise and hope.

“Uchiyama-kun, I’ll be depending on you.”

“Yes sir!” Uchi responded, and was then attacked by all of his classmates trying to hug him at once.

“Uchi…” They heard a small voice coming from the other side, and saw Noda looking thoroughly ashamed. “You guys…” he started, but before he found anything else to say, Shin took the first step towards him.

At this, the rest of the boys behind him rushed over to reunite with their comrades. Shin walked up to Noda and shoved his shoulder in a gentle rebuke. They both grinned at each other, then looked over at Yankumi, who was trying to wipe her eyes surreptitiously.

“Hey you guys!” She shouted to gain everyone’s attention. “Now we head back to the graduation ceremony. Let’s go!”

With a rousing cheer of agreement, the whole class joined her in running back towards their school. While they ran, Shin wondered if any other class exercised with their teacher this much. He was also sure that the way back took much longer than the way there. Near the end, he glanced back to see Hazama and Shimazu pushing Kuma along in order to keep up. He laughed and ran even faster, remembering all the other times he found himself running next to Yankumi, and how happy they all seemed.

Glancing at his watch, he shouted the time to his classmates and picked up the pace. They finally arrived, out of breath and sweaty, a good hour late, but they – all of them – arrived for their ceremony. Slamming the gym doors open, Yankumi led her group of students down the aisle.

“What is the meaning of this?” Vice Principal demanded from the stage.

“I’m very sorry.” Yankumi apologized.

“Get out of here.” The Vice Principal tried to command quietly. “You’ll get your diplomas later-”

“ _The class of 3-D!_ ” Loudly announced the Principal from the podium. He smiled at Yankumi and repeated himself at a lower volume. “The class of 3-D.”

After grinning broadly in response to the Vice Principal being overruled, Yankumi turned and hissed at her class to take their seats. Once everyone had rushed over and straightened themselves out, the Principal called Kuma up as their class representative to receive everyone’s diplomas.

“This is to certify that you have duly finished your secondary education at this school. We hereby certify your graduation on this day, March 7th, 2003. Signed, Shirakawa Genzo, Principal of Shirokin Gakuen High School.” He formally turned and handed the diplomas to Kuma, who took them with a bow and a barely contained grin.

“Congratulations on your graduation!” The Principal announced with a smile of his own. Everyone cheered and clapped as Kuma made his way back to his seat, and the members of 3-D themselves grinned ear to ear as they realized they had done it – they had all graduated together. They had made Yankumi’s dream come true.

As the applause died down, Vice Principal Sawatari announced the Valedictorian’s speech would be given by Sawada Shin of 3-D. Despite how nice it was to see Head Teacher choke out those words, Shin’s face was stoic as he walked onstage. This was it.

“Sawada, read this,” Head Teacher whispered and tried to hand him a pre-written speech. “I’m sure you haven’t prepared anything good-”

Shin brushed past him and headed for the podium. The Vice Principal tried to chase him for a step, then changed his mind and went to stand in the corner. Meeting Yankumi’s gaze for a brief moment, Shin took a breath and started his speech where all good speeches started – the beginning.

“I can never trust teachers. Schools are all the same.” He took a second to enjoy the fact that the Vice Principal was probably about to have a heart attack. “That’s what I thought.” His eyes flicked over to Yankumi again.

“I was wrong.”

Taking another breath, he continued. “Here at this school, there is one – and only one – teacher that I could trust whole heartedly. Here, I found real friends. We fought together. We did silly things together. We cried together. There are real friends here. Instead of winning fist fights, I’d rather be beaten together. There are real friends here.”

He looked over at his gathered classmates. “I want to stay friends with them forever. Everyone goes his own way from today.” And here, he gave a shaky smile. “But that has no impact on me. We are friends!”

Swallowing, his smile faded. “Graduating makes me really sad. I didn’t know that. From tomorrow on, I cannot walk through Shirokin’s gate. I cannot go to 3-D’s dirty classroom. I cannot hear Yankumi’s scolding voice. There will be no more of any of it. I feel really sad.

“Yet, we might meet new people. And by meeting many people, we will learn many things. These are important facets of life.

“It is Yankumi who taught us this way.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other teachers turn to stare at her. He too, turned to look in her direction, cueing the rest of 3-D to stand and do the same.

The words Kaito said had resonated with him. Yankumi had given up so much for them, had done so much for them, and he was determined that she would receive the proper thanks.

He watched Fujiyama and Kawashima gently push Yankumi into standing, where her tracksuit, pigtails, and glasses set her even further apart from the other teachers. And in Shin’s mind, that was not a bad thing.

“Yankumi!” He called from the stage, and saw her look at him with an uncertain look on her tear-stained face. And because, even in front of hundreds of people, he still couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her, he took a breath and said, “Thank you.”

Uchi joined in. “Thank you.”

Kuma smiled at her. “Thank you.”

Noda’s voice was near tears as well. “Thank you.”

Minami nodded. “Thank you.”

“Thank you so much!” All of 3-D shouted, then bowed in deep and heartfelt thanks towards the best teacher any of them had ever had.

He could see Yankumi take a shaky breath and fight back tears. “You guys…”

Shin turned back to the rest of the assembly. “We hereby promise, with a memory of meeting people here, with the knowledge we have learned here, with the pride of being graduates of Shirokin High School, with all our might and desires, to look and live straight forward from this day on. For these past three years – we thank you all very much.”

Then he and his classmates faced the audience, and bowed.

Once the applause had died down, the classes were released back to their rooms. 3-D was full of boundless energy, relishing the fact that they had all graduated, that they were done with school, and that they were all friends again.

Shin took a quick moment to say hello to his mother and sister, once he had recovered from the shock of seeing them there. After hugging them and hearing how great his speech was, he asked, “Dad didn’t come?”

His mother smiled and held up the video camera she had brought. “He’ll see it. Don’t worry.”

He spent a few more minutes with them, then excused himself to his classroom so he could hang out with everyone one last time. The classroom earned a few more decorations in graffiti for the incoming class, and the striped twins set up a damp washcloth over the door as a last prank.

When Yankumi opened the door with a smile, the washcloth plopped on her head loudly, and everyone burst out laughing.

“We got you!” Kuma shouted.

“She never learns,” Minami said while shaking his head.

Shin watched her gear up to yell at them one last time, then get distracted by the chalkboard. She walked up to the mistake in the very large and pink declaration “No More Skool!”, and shook her head. This caused even more laughter, with pointing and teasing and hitting their desks and each other with their diploma cases.

Shin waited with a smile for her to look fondly at her wild class and maybe shout at them to be quiet. Instead, he noticed her bite her lip, blink rapidly, and stare at the floor in an attempt not to cry.

“Yankumi…” he said, immediately drawing everyone’s attention to their emotional teacher. The shouts and laughter quieted and stopped as they all stared at her in concern.

She spoke very softly, pausing often. “I was afraid… I had… imposed the meaning of friendships, or fighting rightly… as if I knew everything in life. But every single move was trial and error, and I was not so confident about what I was doing.” She sniffed, then said, “Yet, you guys taught me… if I tackle the problems with all of my heart, you could open you heart to respond.”

Taking another shaking breath, she spoke louder. “Finding people like you… so good-hearted and so honest… It might be really rare. I might face bigger problems in the future,  but that’s why, I think, I was so blessed… to have you as my class.” She looked tearfully at each of them. “Wholeheartedly, I think I was blessed to have you guys as my first students.”

Crying openly now, she smiled tightly and said. “Thank you. All of you.”

Shaking her head, and trying to speak normally, she continued, “My time as your homeroom teacher ends today. As a teacher, there is one thing I must tell you last. A true friendship means that no matter how far you live apart, no matter how many years pass, it’s still a life-long treasure. Cherish it. Never, ever forget that.” And then she smiled and dismissed them.

As everyone walked out to the gates, they stopped, turned, and waited for Yankumi to notice them.

“Yankumi,” Uchi called, and she looked up in surprise to see them all waiting for her.

“I decided to go to night school while working,” Minami told her with a smile.

She gave a small grin in response. “Good luck, Minami.”

“I’ll pass the Art College exam next year.” Noda said confidently.

She nodded at him. “I know you can do it, Noda.”

“Come eat my ramen,” Kuma invited her.

“Sure.” She promised. “Yours is a four star ramen restaurant, Kuma.”

“When you feel lonely, call me any time!” Uchi shouted.

“Make sure you take care of your mom, Uchiyama.” She replied.

Trying very hard not to sound choked up, Shin took his turn. “Yankumi. You said you would be our teacher until today. But you’ll be our homeroom teacher for a long time. Forever. And ever.”

She glanced at her students as each of them nodded in agreement. Before she could start to cry again, Shin glanced at Noda significantly.

“All together now!” Noda yelled happily.

“Peace out!” 3-D chorused, and with that, they all waved, and left to find their own paths.

As Shin walked away, he made another promise. He truly meant what he said, that she would always be their one true homeroom teacher, and that her lessons would stay with them forever, and that none of them would ever forget her. But he also promised that the next time he saw her, he would be a man worthy of her.

And _that_ was how he was going to live his life.


	15. Love Lost and Found

**Chapter Fifteen**

**_Time passed…_ **

* * *

_Love was found..._

Shinohara Tomoyo sighed. He had been waiting in line at one of his favorite eateries for a good part of his lunch break, and he was fairly certain they were out of the good pudding by now. The available tables were disappearing by the minute, and he was still eight people from the cash register. Plus, there was the slightly more serious issue of Yamaguchi-sensei he still had to deal with.

The fact that she was part of a yakuza family had been niggling at the back of his mind since her secret came out in that magazine. He mentally cursed at the awful reporter who had nearly cost Yamaguchi her job. Truth was, he liked her. Not seriously, or at least, not any more seriously than any of his other female friends, but he enjoyed spending time with her. Of course, he enjoyed spending time with Fujiyama-sensei and Kawashima-sensei as well. He sighed again. He often wondered if that was as strongly as he would ever feel about a woman – that he liked her.

While he did enjoy Yamaguchi’s energy and her dedication to such troublesome students, what Tetsu-san had said that day also kept bothering him.

_“Ojou is in love with you, but I will not give her up.”_

He had said _, “Alright. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”_ Because it was true. He welcomed Tetsu-san to the fight for Yamaguchi’s heart, because she deserved a serious contender – which he was not. And he was fairly certain that Yamaguchi wasn’t in love with him. She probably just had a crush, and even so, she must know that they could never actually be together. Yamaguchi may not be part of the yakuza technically, but he had heard enough stories from his friends in the Organized Crime Unit to know that blood ties were considered sacred in that community. She might not be the fourth head yet, but that could easily change. And if they were to seriously date or marry, he couldn’t have that tie linking him to the underworld while he was a detective. So it was either asking her to give up her family, or asking him to give up his career – which was unfair for both of them.

Shinohara made a face. The good pudding _was_ all gone! He would just have to settle for the vanilla. Which only reminded him of his mother not-so-subtly asking when he was going to find someone to settle down and raise children with. He repeated his answer to himself.

“When I find the right woman.”

His face fell. He was well into his thirties, had a demanding job, and had no one he was passionate about. That’s what he truly wanted. That spark, that urge, that desire that make people look and act ridiculous. Someone he couldn’t wait to see, someone that made him happy, someone he would fight for no matter what-

_“Sorry, but… make that four of us.”_

That boy – Sawada-kun. Shinohara had never really taken him seriously until that moment. He knew Sawada was a good kid, from when he was caught after rescuing his sister, and how regretful he looked after Yamaguchi had left the holding room. He understood that Tetsu had probably been in love with her for a long while, and he knew that Kashiwagi didn’t have a chance with her, but he had been considerably startled when that boy popped up out of nowhere to declare his interest. And the way he had said it sounded almost indifferent, careless, casual, but there was no mistaking the fire in his eyes. At that moment, Shinohara wished he had a tenth of the resolve he had seen in Sawada-kun’s eyes that day.

Suddenly he was at the register, and after he had paid, he looked around and realized that every single table was taken. He gripped his tray tighter and scanned the room again. Aha! There! In the very back corner was one small table with its occupant leaving. He fought through the crowded room, and triumphantly claimed the table with his tray… just as another tray was set down.

Confused, he looked up. Then up. And up some more until he was standing completely straight. Across the table was a tall, beautiful woman who was staring at him… until he realized he was also staring at her.

“I’m so sorry,” he apologized. “I didn’t think this table was taken. I’ll find some… where… else…” His words slowed as he glanced around the room and thought it had gotten even more crowded than before.

The woman smiled. “Well, there are two chairs, you know. We could share the table.” He looked back and saw a teasing glint in her eyes.

“That’s very true,” He agreed, unaware he was grinning back. “Thank you for your generosity.”

“I’m Yoshizumi Sumire.” She told him with a slight bow as she sat down.

“Shinohara Tomoyo.” He returned.

He soon found out that she was a financial newspaper columnist, she loved detective stories, she did aikido, and that she had an amazing laugh. He quickly realized that she kept expecting him to be intimidated by either her height or her job, and was very self-conscious about both. Trying to subtly set her at ease, he started talking about his sister, who was only an inch shorter than his own six feet, and often wore heels that made him feel like a midget. He was rewarded by another amazing laugh.

Glancing down at his watch, he very quickly did a double take. He had been sitting there for an hour! How in the world did time pass that fast? Apologizing profusely, he grabbed his tray and was about to leave before he realized that he really wanted to see her again. Unsure of how to articulate this, he simply stood by the table, holding his tray awkwardly.

Trying to suppress another smile, Yoshizumi-san remarked, “You know, this is one of my favorite restaurants. I come here most every day, usually around eleven. I might even come back tomorrow.”

Shinohara stared a moment, then grinned. “You know, I didn’t get the pudding I liked this time. Maybe I’ll come back tomorrow and try again.”

Yoshizumi-san looked at him with a soft expression that for some reason caused Shinohara’s insides to somersault. “Sounds good to me.”

* * *

 

_Love was lost…_

Yankumi was excited as she walked home from school. She confident she was getting through to her new students. She had given them a great lesson in math this afternoon (with only a few students falling asleep), as well as a passionate speech about the importance of studying. There hadn’t even been many fights recently, which she always thought was a good sign. Perhaps, if they didn’t fight as often, they would forget how to do it and stop altogether! Also, she was sure if they just paid attention, they would really find math interesting. After all, to succeed in life all they need was to shed some hot tears and sweat and search for that bright shining sun togeth-

Wait! Was that Shinohara-san up ahead?

Yankumi grinned broadly. “Shinohara-saaaaan!” She called as she rushed towards him. Perhaps the luck she was having with her students would extend to her relationship with Shinohara-san! Ah, he would look so good in a white tux… carrying roses… picking her up and spinning around… walking towards him down the aisle! Yes! Her luck was changing! Things were good! Things were great! Everything was-

“Ah, Yamaguchi-sensei.” He smiled at her as he turned around. “Heading home? How was school?”

She nodded emphatically. “Yes, and it was great. I’m very excited about what they learned today. Things have been going really well, and I’m sure that they’ll just get better.” She beamed at him, still imagining him in a pristine white tuxedo.

“Oh, you’re a teacher! What subject?” Came a melodic voice from beside Shinohara.

“I am so rude! I forgot to introduce you. Yamaguchi-sensei, this is Yoshizumi Sumire.” And it was only then that Yankumi realized there was a tall, gorgeous woman dressed in a floral shirt that matched perfectly with her pencil skirt, holding on to Shinohara’s arm. _How long had **she** been there?_

“Sumire, this is Yamaguchi Kumiko, one of the most dedicated teachers I’ve ever known.”

“Yamaguchi-sensei, it’s so nice to meet you.” The vision of beauty bent down in a graceful bow.

Yankumi swallowed. “Yoshizumi-san, it’s… nice to meet you too.” She had never been so aware of how short five feet and three inches made her. Standing next to Shinohara, whose height was perfect (like the rest of him) at six feet, and Yoshizumi-san, who was even taller than Fujiyama-sensei, and only barely shorter than Shinohara, Yankumi suddenly felt very, very small.

“We were just heading to dinner,” Shinohara explained, and then glanced over at Yoshizumi with a small smile that struck Yankumi like a slap in the face. The way he looked at her… she looked at Yoshizumi, who was returning his smile with one of her own… and the way she was looking at him…

Yankumi took a step back. She was suddenly conscious of how short she was, how ridiculous her tracksuit must look, how childish her pigtails must seem, and how out of place she was standing next to such tall, beautiful people who were obviously in…

“Would you like to join us?” Yoshizumi-san asked in perfect sincerity and politeness.

“Oh, yes, please do.” Shinohara smiled at her as an invitation, but this smile felt perfunctory and lifeless compared to the one just a moment ago.

Plastering on a polite smile of her own, Yankumi shook her head. “Oh, no, thank you, but I can’t. I have so much work to do, and lessons to plan, and papers to grade…”

Shinohara looked perfect even when he was confused. “But it’s Friday. Surely it can wait until-”

“So nice tomeetyoubye!” Yankumi said in one breath as she turned and walked away as quickly as possible, trying very hard to keep her breathing under control.

She took a different route home, rather than through the marketplace, since she simply wanted to make it to her room and speak to as few people as possible. She was nearly running as she approached home, and tossed off her shoes as fast as she could.

“Oh, Ojou, welcome h-” Minoru tried to greet her, but she shoved past him with enough strength to send him spinning.

“Ojou?” He called in confusion as he spun on his back like an upside-down turtle.

“I’m fine!” She shouted, and pounded upstairs.

At this point, heads were cautiously poked out from various rooms.

“What happened to Ojou?” Makoto asked, while they all looked at each other and shrugged.

~*~

Tetsu was the only one brave enough to volunteer to bring her hot pot later that night, and he made sure to creep up the stairs very carefully.

“Excuse me…” He said as he slowly entered. He found her laying on her bed, facing the wall and asleep. He gingerly set the bowl of hot pot down on her desk, then started to leave. She suddenly breathed in and turned over, slowly blinking her eyes open.

“Testu?” She asked sleepily.

He nodded and bowed. “I brought you some hot pot, Ojou.”

She sat up and went over to her desk. “Ah, thank you Tetsu.” She smiled weakly at him as she blew on the steaming bowl.

Tetsu couldn’t help but notice the tear-stained pillow and her red, puffy eyes. Uncertain of what to do, but unwilling to leave, he knelt down next to her.

“Ojou, is everything alright?” He asked worriedly.

“Hm?” She looked up from her soup.

“Does it have something to do with…” He didn’t like saying his name. “Shinohara?”

Her eyes immediately flashed at him, then her face fell despondently.

Tetsu blinked in surprise. Well that answered _that_ question.

“Did something happen?”

Although she kept her eyes on her bowl, he could see her blinking rapidly. “No,” she sniffed loudly. “Nothing happened.”

Tetsu sat back, confused by the fact that her reaction contradicted her words. He had heard this often occurred around women, but Ojou had always been so forthright and sensible. The fact remained, he had no idea what to do or say to comfort a sad, crying Ojou.

“Um…” He started, hoping inspiration would strike. “Did he do something to you?” Hurting Shinohara for hurting Ojou sounded like a great solution to him.

Suddenly, Ojou starting wailing, which rather alarmed Tetsu. “Noooo. He (sniff) didn’t do anything, (sniff) except be perfect. That’s the (cough) problem. He’s too (loud sniffle) perfect! Damn him!”

Tetsu was thoroughly confused at this point.

“I mean, it’s not like we ever spoke about it, but I always thought… But the way he looked at her… and she’s just so… so…”

“So what?” He asked tentatively.

“ _Tall!_ She’s so damn tall and perfect…” She sniffed and wiped her eyes. “It _is_ like Romeo and Juliet. Our love was doomed from the start.” Her lip started trembling, and Tetsu watched helplessly as she dissolved into tears again. He cast around for something, anything to say (although he was trying to ignore the way she said ‘our love’).

“You don’t deserve him!” He suddenly burst out. Ojou stopped crying and blinked at him in surprise.

“What?” She asked, and Tetsu heard the undercurrent of danger in her voice.

“You – you don’t deserve someone who doesn’t think of your feelings.” He paused nervously, but kept going. “Who d- doesn’t put you first. Who doesn’t try to make you happy. Who…” He glanced at the floor, then gathered his courage and switched tack. “You deserve someone who knows you. Someone who worries about you. Someone who…” Tetsu swallowed, then looked up to meet Ojou’s eyes. “who cares for you. Loves you.”

He took a breath. “Someone like me.”

Ojou’s eyes widened. “Tetsu…” She said softly.

“I worry about you. I care about you. I know where you come from, who you really are…” His words sounded rushed, breathless in his ears. “I know _you_.” He met her gaze and waited.

Blinking, she lowered her eyes. “Tetsu, I do care about you. But – we’ve known each other so long… I’ve always thought of you as family, as my-”

“Don’t.”

For the first time in his life, he gave his Ojou an order. “Don’t.” He repeated quietly.

It wasn’t his hurt pride, his embarrassment, or even his broken heart that drove him from the room. It was the hint of pity in her eyes.

“Tetsu, I’m sor-”

He fled before she could finish.

~*~

Yankumi heard him run down the stairs.

“Tetsu?” She could hear Minoru ask. “Are you-”

And this time, it was Tetsu who shouted, “I’m _fine_!”

“Wait, Aniki, where are you going? Aniki?” Minoru’s voice grew distant as he presumably followed Tetsu out the door.

As the footsteps faded, Yamaguchi Kumiko hugged her knees and watched new teardrops stain her jeans. She had never felt so despicable, miserable, hurt, or confused in all her life.

The next day came as if nothing had happened. As if her whole world hadn’t just been broken into unfixable pieces. As if her dream guy hadn’t cluelessly proved she meant nothing to him. As if one of her closest family members hadn’t confessed to her, then run away, and now probably hated her.

She stayed in her room most of the day, hiding under her covers.

When her growling stomach finally forced her to venture downstairs that evening, she cautiously peered around to see if anyone was there. She wasn’t sure what frightened her more – the prospect of explaining what had happened, or finding out that everyone already knew and hated her for it.

Poking her head into the kitchen, she was relieved to see it was empty. She grabbed some rice and bread and quickly scarfed them down. She listened for a moment, then snuck back out towards her room, hoping no one spotted her.

“Ah, Kumiko!”

She froze until she realized that her grandfather’s voice was as friendly as always. Turning slowly towards the dining room, she mustered up a small smile and bowed.

“Come and have a drink with me.” He held up an extra cup as an invitation.

While she really wanted to run back to her room and hide in shame the rest of her life, she respected and loved her grandfather too much to refuse. She nodded and knelt down across the table as he poured sake in her cup.

He passed the drink to her with a smile, then they both raised their glasses and drank.

“Kumiko, did I ever tell you about Mayu-chan?” She glanced up, saw the same kind look in his eyes, then shook her head. Her grandfather sat back and started to reminisce.

“Ah, well, she was a girl who lived in the same village as me, back when I was much younger, you understand. She had long, dark hair, and a smile sweeter than a spring breeze. She flashed one smile and all the boys fell over themselves for her. Me included. And when the crowd of flirts scattered, I was still there. It was a fine time. We walked and talked and laughed together – I thought life couldn’t get better. But then, one day, she tells me that I was a friend, a good friend even, but that was all.”

Yankumi thought she heard a noise behind her, but couldn’t bear to turn away. Kuroda chuckled ruefully at the memory.

“I was confused. And angry. How could she not see me the way I saw her? I had a whole life planned out and she had gone and smashed it to pieces. Well, I packed up and left that very night. I wandered around a bit, bitter and upset, but after some time and thinking, the hurt finally healed. Not quickly, mind you, but it did heal. Even so, I still thought of her, and after a while, I went back. I thought that since I couldn’t forget Mayu-chan, perhaps she couldn’t forget about me. I marched in to the village, intent on winning her.”

He paused. She waited for a minute, wondering if he was having one of those ‘senior moments’ she had heard about. But then, a slow, gentle smile stretched across his face, lighting up his eyes in a way she hadn’t seen before.

“And then I saw your grandmother.”

Yankumi sat back in surprise. Her grandmother had died while she was very young, and she didn’t know much about her at all, besides an old photo here and there.

“Ah, thinking about the first moment I saw her still takes my breath away. She was walking into a temple, with the sakura petals whirling all around her… She wasn’t anything like Mayu-chan. No, Nanako was different. She didn’t have a string of flirts, nor did she want them.” He turned and looked at Kumiko. “She was much like you. Strong, determined. Compared to her, any thoughts I had of Mayu-chan paled in comparison. And once I had gotten to know her, I realized something.” Here, his eyes looked past Yankumi’s shoulder, at the opposite wall, as he thought through his next words.

“What I felt for Mayu-chan was easy. What I felt for Nanako was _right_.”

Now Yankumi had to sit and think about that one.

“Heh. It was only later that I found out she was the daughter of the Oedo clan boss, but I didn’t care. Pursuing her was its own kind of hell, since I had to face her father and brothers first, but once I knew that I loved her, and she loved me, and it felt _right_ … well, none of the rest mattered.”

Glancing down at her lap, Yankumi imagined her grandfather, young and full of energy, disappointed in his own love, seeing her grandmother for the first time.

Suddenly, Kuroda yawned and stretched. “You’ll have to forgive your old grandfather. Like most old folks, I like talking about the past. Now, it’s late and you should be off to bed.”

Standing up, she started for her room. Pausing, she glanced back. “Grandpa,” She said, then stopped and looked down. Finally, she met his gaze and finished, “Thank you.”

He smiled lovingly at her. “Good night, Kumiko.”

~*~

As Kumiko went up the stairs, Kuroda waited for a minute or two, then stretched again and stood up slowly. His back was not as young as it once was. He took his newspaper with him and started walking out of the room.

“Goodnight, Tetsu.” He called out as he left.

There was a startled thump from the other side of the wall, and then the door slid open sheepishly.

“G-goodnight, Boss.” Tetsu replied, kneeling deeply.

Kuroda smiled to himself in satisfaction. 

* * *

 

_And Love was rediscovered…_

Ami was hungry. She had been studying for her midterms most of the day, and needed to get out of her small apartment. Wandering aimlessly, she tried to think of what she was in the mood for.

There was a crepe place, but she had crepes just a few days ago. She didn’t feel like sushi or tempura.

“Hmm… oh! Ramen!” She hadn’t had ramen in ages. Glancing up at the sign, she saw a bear wearing a cooking shirt next to the name. “Kumai Ramen.” Ami thought a moment. That name sounded familiar somehow. Ah well. It’ll come to her later.

She walked in and studied the posted menu, then walked up to the counter.

A large, blonde boy was manning the register. “Hello, how can I-”

“Kuma-kun!” Ami shouted in surprise. The boy stopped, then stared.

“Ami-chan!” He realized loudly. His mouth fluttered open and closed as if he was trying to think of what else to say.

“I didn’t know you worked at a ramen place.” She looked around, then thought of the sign outside. “Wait, Kumai Ramen… do you _own_ this place?”

Kuma finally swallowed and nodded. “Well, it was actually my dad’s, and now it’s mine, I mean, it’s my family’s, but I work here, and it’ll be mine later. I think.” He looked up and tried to go back through his sentence to see if it made sense.

Ami was very impressed. “That’s amazing.” She told him with a smile.

He nervously half-smiled back.

“I’m taking a business class at university, but I imagine that actually running your own restaurant is much harder.”

“Oh, well it is hard, but, I’m sure that classes are a lot of work too, and um, I don’t run everything, but I, uh, I help with stuff, and I bet that a class is probably helpful and, um… um…”

She looked up to see why he had stopped and found him gazing at her with an almost wondrous stare. She unconsciously blushed and bit back a smile.

“Terou! Why are you spacing out?” A voice called, and an older woman came around the corner to see what was going on. Ami quickly smiled at her and the woman took in Kuma’s daze and who he was staring at.

A wide grin appeared on her face. “Hello, I’m Terou’s mother. Can I help you?”

Ami bowed. “I’m Morisaki Ami. I’m a friend of Kuma-kun’s from high school.”

“Ah,” Mrs. Kumai-san nodded. “Well, what would you like? It’s on the house, of course.”

“Really? Thank you! I was actually thinking of getting the special.”

Mrs. Kumai-san smiled. “One special, on the house, coming right up. Terou!” She shouted, smacking him upside the head. “One special for the pretty girl!”

Ami went to find a seat as she watched Kuma bustle around behind the counter. For all of his shyness, he moved confidently in the restaurant kitchen, adding spices, stirring pots, flipping potstickers, and somehow keeping an eye on everything.

Seeing him again was certainly a surprise, albeit a welcome one. He had always kept a special spot in her memory after the entire incident with that gang. Mostly because it convinced her to dump Mukai’s sorry butt the next time she saw him. She had always been content with Mukai, who was really the first boy to show any interest in her, and looking back, Ami realized that he had been controlling and cowardly the entire relationship. Naturally a peacemaker, she might have stayed with him forever, forgiving his faults and trying to ignore her own misery in order to keep everyone happy.

But, when your boyfriend gets you captured by a pipe-wielding gang, even by accident, and then _leaves_ you there without so much as a backwards glance, something has to be done. Beating her with pipes and leaving her for dead would have been the kindest thing those thugs would have done. She shuddered even at the memory of it.

Of course, that memory led to the next one, where Kuma appeared suddenly, shouted, “Keep your hands off her!”, then ran at them. And it wasn’t because he was fearless, or stupidly brave, but because this boy, whom she had dumped her parfait on once, and had spoken with twice, cared more about her than her gutless chicken of a boyfriend did.

She looked up at him again, and when he caught her stare, he blinked and gave her a small, nervous grin. He suddenly looked down with a muffled curse and quickly grabbed a spatula. Ami smiled, then decided to keep her eyes on her own table and not distract him anymore.

“Um, here you go.”

Kuma had brought over her ramen personally! She thanked him, which he returned with a bow, then hurried back to the kitchen. She was not surprised to discover it was the best tasting ramen she had ever had.

When she was done, she took her bowl back up to the counter.

“Thank you, it was truly delicious. And it was great seeing you again!”

Kuma nodded emphatically. “It was! I mean, it was great to see you too. Feel free to come back…”

“Terou! It’s time for your break!” A loud voice came from the other side of the kitchen.

He looked back, confused. “I have breaks?”

The loud voice changed to a loud whisper. “Take her out for dessert!”

Horrified, Kuma turned to see if Ami had heard. She had covered her mouth with her hand and was doing her best not to laugh.

“Go on! Ask her!” The stage whisper encouraged him.

Keeping his head down, Kuma mumbled, “Would you like to have dessert… um… with… me?”

The only thing that kept back her laughter was how hopeful and unsure the small glance Kuma gave her was.

Grinning gently, she nodded. “I’d love to. What’s the best place?”

Now that he was asked about one of his areas of expertise, his shyness started to disappear.

“Well,” he started, hanging up his apron after being reminded by another loud whisper, “it depends on what you want. If you like ice cream, there’s this place down the road that had this monster sundae, but if you want crepes, there’s a cart near the high school that sells this chocolate tornado crepe, but if you just want sweets…”

And as they left the ramen place, Ami realized that she had not smiled and laughed this genuinely and this often in a very long time. She smiled again, and walked a little closer to Kuma. It was something she could get used to.


	16. Confession and Comprehension

**Chapter Sixteen – Shin comes back! Woot woot!**

**We’ve made it! I hope this chapter meets everyone’s expectations, and gives you as many warm fuzzies as it gave me.**

**Notes:**

**So, I looked it up, and a plane ride from Nigeria to Japan takes anywhere from 30 to 58 hours. At least. Yikes.**

**The magazine quiz in here is completely made up by me. I’ll tell you, while doing research for this, I came across more ‘omg does yr hott crush liek you?’ quizzes than I will ever need to see.**

**One more tidbit I learned while researching - Japanese people do not hug. Some of the younger generation will, but most Japanese people do not react well to hugs, or really, most public displays of affection. Of course, this is a drama, but I’m trying to maintain a tenuous link to reality.**

**The Standard Creepiness Rule exists! And is mentioned in the great webcomic, xkcd. (xkcd dot com /314). It’s (age/2) + 7 for minimum age, and (age – 7) x 2 for maximum age of appropriate dating age ranges. It’s too funny to make up.**

**Also, I have Yankumi get a little insecure about herself, because let’s face it – all girls do. And if you watch the show, the boys she teaches make fun of her looks a lot, which she doesn’t take personally, because she’s awesome, but girls do not forget things like that.**

**But don’t worry, it all ends well, and I’d like to take a moment and say thank you to everyone who has read this fic. If you’ve been a silent reader, take this moment to let me know what you thought of the story, your favorite scene, or if the ending felt real to you.**

**Plus! I’m planning on writing a short epilogue, and maybe a sequel as well. Let me know if you'd be at all interested in reading that. =)**

**So read, enjoy, review, and revel in the ShinKumi closure!**

* * *

 

Shin tried to stretch without disturbing the man next to him, but with his long limbs and his neighbor’s portly figure, it was a futile effort. The man glared at him, then turned away. Shin rolled his eyes. Obviously the 2 a.m. take-off time, along with the ten hour flight, did not sit well with the occupant of 33B.

Looking out the window, he stared at the landscape through the clouds. If he had to guess, he’d say they were over India at this point. Or maybe Nepal. He wondered if they were going to pass near Mount Everest, and if he was on the right side of the plane to see it. He shifted again and sighed. Only five more hours until this full day and a half of hellish travel was over. He knew that it was a long way from Africa to Japan, but 33 hours was a little much, in his opinion. Shifting again, he tried to think if the flight to Africa from Japan he took two years ago had been this long. If it had, he hadn’t noticed. He was probably too excited about starting a new chapter in his life to be bothered with how long it took.

Shin glanced down. He knew that wasn’t true. He had been excited, but incredibly nervous and a little frightened, too. It was scary to leave everything and everyone he knew for a country that was not his own.  He had wondered what Africa would be like. What kind of people he would meet. If he would make friends. If he would forget about Yankumi.

Two years later on his return trip, Shin could answer that last question very easily. No. No way in hell had he forgotten Yankumi. He was fairly certain that he couldn’t, even if he wanted to. She had been ingrained in his mind too longfor that to be a possibility.

He thought about her when some of the kids he was building the school for thanked him. He thought of her when the surly teenager, Chike, he was paired with either ignored him or gave him dirty looks. And he wondered if Yankumi had ever felt like stuffing him down a hole when he had acted like an annoying know-it-all. But he couldn’t help think of her when, after months of subtly trying to befriend him, Chike shook his hand and gave him a rare smile.

Shin grinned thoughtfully. He had made so many friends and memories there. Kaito, who had been an invaluable mentor, looked both surprised and curious when Shin had told him he was heading home after the Bamali school was finished.

_“Any particular reason why?”_

_He had one, but it was a little difficult to explain. “… It was my birthday last week. I’m twenty now. I’ve been waiting to… do something. And I think now, it’s time.”_

_Kaito had raised his eyebrow quizzically, then shrugged. “Well,” he had clapped Shin on the shoulder, “good luck to you, then.”_

“Ladies and gentlemen, if you would return your seats to their upright position so that those behind you may access their tray tables, we will be taking orders for breakfast in just a few moments. Thank you.”

As he slowly ate his omelet, Shin that thought sink in. He was twenty. Two years had passed since he was a high school senior. Since he had seen Yankumi, or any of his friends, or his family. What had changed?

Before he had left, he had examined himself in a mirror, to see if his friends would still recognize him. He had filled out a bit, his skin was a few shades darker, and his hair was a few shades lighter. His blonde streaks had grown out, and had disappeared with his last haircut. He was stronger, though he didn’t think anyone could tell by looking at him, and he felt more… at peace with himself.

In high school, he hadn’t really cared what people thought of him, but there was always that undercurrent of anger and bitterness that grew every time he saw a teacher being despicable, or an adult being worthless. Even when he thought he was calm, that anger was always there. But Yankumi had drained it off. Being around her sapped his bitterness, his hate, until he realized that he didn’t want to be angry anymore. Living on his own in Africa and realizing that no one here knew or cared about his past had helped him grow; helped get rid of the last of his anger.

He knew his friends had changed from the few emails he exchanged whenever he could find a computer. Noda had been accepted into his Art College after a year of studying, and was now happily dreaming of making his own designer brand. Uchi was doing well at his construction job, since he had gotten promoted and was talking with the manager about getting his architect license through the company. Minami managed a store part-time while going to night school for engineering, which was apparently his new-found love. Kuma, Shin was pleasantly surprised to learn, had reconnected with the girl he had saved from that gang, and from the way he talked about her, things were looking fairly serious for them. Shin had also found out that once Mrs. Kumai learned that Shin was returning to Japan and need a place to stay for a little while, she immediately offered their spare room and wouldn’t take no for an answer.

And Yankumi… well, he really had no idea how or even if Yankumi had changed. Kuma, who still saw her now and again, due to the proximity of his restaurant to several high schools, had mentioned that Shirokin had been shut down (Shin wasn’t that surprised), and that Yankumi was once again teaching a trouble-making class at… Kurogin, was it?

One of the more infuriating things was the fact that he couldn’t ask about Shinohara, or if Yankumi had found someone else while he was gone. Even if he could, he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

 _No, no. Stop it_ , he told himself. _No ifs or hypotheticals. They won’t help._

So he spent the remainder of the flight determinedly _not_ thinking of Yankumi and the awful ‘what ifs’ surrounding his decision about her.

They finally landed around six, and Shin could not wait to get off that plane and finally stretch his legs. As he followed the crowd of passengers down the escalators to baggage claim, he suddenly heard several voices bellowing his name. Looking over, he saw Kuma, Uchi, Noda, and Minami all holding signs with variations of ‘Welcome Home Shin-chan!’. He rolled his eyes and tried not to smile at how ridiculous his friends were.

He was soon mobbed with hugs and shouts and inquiries about souvenirs. He laughed and pushed them off so he could make his way to get his bags. The entire car ride to Kuma’s was spent asking and answering questions, until the boys noticed Shin’s eyes involuntarily closing. When they arrived at Kuma’s house, Mrs. Kumai shooed them away and told them to let poor Shin sleep so his body could make sense of the time difference. They promised to come by again tomorrow night, and Shin nodded and waved until they had all left.

Shin slept all through the next day, and woke up feeling slightly more normal, just in time to be mobbed by his friends again. While Kuma’s mother brought out ramen for them, everyone caught up on each other’s lives.

“So, Kuma, Ami-chan, eh?” Minami teased his friend.

Kuma blushed and nodded.

“Who’d have thought he’d be the first one with a serious girlfriend?” Noda added with friendly jab.

“Speak for yourselves.” Uchi told them through a mouth full of ramen. The other boys stopped, looked up, then immediately moved over to put Uchi in a headlock.

“Eh? Uchi, are you holding out on us? Do you have a girl? Tell us now!”

“None of your business!” Uchi tried to say while squished against the table.

Shin shook his head and continued eating. By the time he finished his bowl, they had found out that Uchi was interested in the owner’s daughter, she was a year younger than him, and that they had been on a few dates. After teasing him sufficiently for keeping it secret, his friends moved on to other topics.

“So, what do we want to do now that Shin-chan’s back in town?” Noda asked, ignoring the glare Shin gave him for adding ‘chan’ to his name.

“Oh, there’s this great place that does karaoke on Fridays, plus they have a great buffet. We can go tomorrow!” Kuma suggested.

“Can’t.” Shin said, carefully keeping his eyes on the table. “I’m busy tomorrow.”

“What? Two days back in Japan and you already have plans?” Uchi asked in disbelief.

“Still as popular as ever,” Noda grinned. “What are you going to do?”

Shin shrugged as nonchalantly as he could. “Stuff.”

Kuma, Uchi, and Noda looked at him with mixes of confusion and suspicion while Minami smirked openly.

“Going to see Yankumi, aren’t you?”

Shin’s head shot up to stare at Minami in surprise. Luckily, the other boys didn’t notice, since they were all staring at Minami as well.

“Yankumi?” Uchi asked Minami in a puzzled tone.

“Well, I’m sure she’d be happy to see you.” Kuma added. “She likes seeing her old students.”

“Is he right?” Noda turned to Shin, who managed a nod.

Minami wasn’t done, however. “Going to tell her?” He asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Shin upped the level of his glare with no effect.

“Tell her what?” Uchi glanced at both Shin and Minami suspiciously.

“That he’s-” Suddenly, Shin leapt from his seat and reached across to try and strangle his former friend. Minami, with a surprising display of agility (almost like he knew how Shin would react), darted out of the way and finished his sentence moments before Shin reached him.

“He’s in love with her!” He shouted, then was instantly put in a chokehold.

“What?!” The rest of the boys asked in shock.

“Has been for years.” Minami choked out.

Kuma moved over to release his friend from Shin’s death grip. “Shin…” he warned.

Shin begrudgingly let Minami go and sat back in a huff. Minami, no worse for wear, mouthed, “It was worth it,” and watched his masterpiece unfold.

“But, but… _Yankumi_?” Uchi stared at Shin open-mouthed.

“Wait…” Noda was staring at the ceiling, obviously reviewing everything from high school with this new knowledge. “Everything makes so much more sense now! Well, not everything, but still…”

“When he said she looked nice in that awful outfit…” Minami supplied with a grin.

“When he kept going along with her crazy ideas…” Uchi realized.

“When he knew what she would do with that shoplifting thing…” Kuma joined in.

“Guys, guys,” Noda sat up with a fascinated smile. “He only ever smiled when she was involved.”

Everyone looked up as they thought back. “You’re right!”

Uchi also remembered past evidence. “And that’s why he kept staring at her when she wasn’t looking!”

Shin crossed his arms and tried to ignore the shouts around him. “I have the worst friends in the world,” he grumbled to himself.

It was finally Kuma that took pity on him. “Shin, we’re just teasing because we’re happy for you.”

“Yeah,” Minami said, settling down. “I mean, we all understand.”

Uchi nodded. “Yankumi means something special to all of us.”

He was on the verge of forgiving them when Noda piped up.

“I thought you said she wasn’t alluring?” He teased, which set everyone to giggling again.

“And that having feelings for her was ridiculous?” Uchi chimed in.

Since there was no dealing with them like this, Shin drank another cup of sake and tried to ignore the fact that he was pouting.

“So,” Minami asked in a more serious tone, once the laughter had died down. “Are you going to tell her?”

Shin sighed. “I… I don’t know. Maybe. I don’t know if she even…” He sighed again. “I don’t know.”

The boys glanced at each other, then Shin.

“Good luck.” Minami wished him sincerely.

“It’ll be fine.” Noda told him.

Kuma patted him on the back.

“You could always challenge her to a duel.” Uchi suggested. “That could work.”

They all laughed, and even Shin grinned a little. He let them tease, because he was the one in love with her, and even he thought it was ridiculous.

The next day, Shin convinced Mrs. Kumai that the least he could do was help out in the restaurant in exchange for freeloading. This way, he also got to meet Ami-chan, who apparently stopped by for a lunch date with Kuma every day. After noticing the looks both Ami and Kuma gave each other, Shin was happy his friend had found someone that he obviously loved.

Around two, he excused himself and went upstairs for a quick shower and change of clothes. He spent an embarrassingly long time in front of the mirror, alternating between telling himself that he looked fine and fixing both his hair and his clothes.

After both Mrs. Kumai and Ami assured him he looked great, he headed out for Kurogin. He carefully arranged himself so he was casually leaning against the gate when the bell rang. Students walked past, most of them giving him curious looks, and the rougher ones giving him challenging glares. He gave those a look of his own, then turned away.

Soon enough, Yankumi came out, muttering to herself. He bit back a grin and settled himself against the gate again. However, in typical Yankumi fashion, she was completely oblivious to his presence or how cool he looked. As she drew closer, Shin could hear part of her rant.

“Not understanding such a simple concept, and after I explained it so well! They’re all so… so…”

“Slow.” He commented.

“Yes! Slow! Thank you, Sawada. They’re slow and stubborn and can’t see what’s right in front of – Sawada!” She turned around in complete surprise.

He rolled his eyes. “I was talking about you. Baka.” He told her gently.

“Sawada!” She shouted again, then attacked his hair with a broad smile. He winced as all the work he put into it disappeared, but then laughed at himself. If it was Yankumi ruffling his hair, it was worth it.

“You’re back from Africa!” She announced happily.

 _No, really?_ He responded sarcastically in his mind, but still smiled at her.

“And you came to see your old teacher, what a good precious student!” He narrowed his eyes at that. This was his first task – making her see he wasn’t her student anymore.

“Hey, have you… had dinner yet?” Shin tried to ask casually.

“Oh! You must be hungry! Of course – I’ll have Minoru prepare us a feast!” Before he could protest, she grabbed his arm and took off.

“But I meant… just… us…” He finished to himself as she chattered on while dragging him along the sidewalk.

“Oh, by the way, Sawada, where are you staying?”

“Shin.”

“What?”

“It’s my first name. You could use it, you know.”

“Oh, that would be weird! You’re my precious student, after all.”

“Was.”

“Hm?”

“I _was_ your student. It’s been two years.”

“Oh,” and here, she actually looked thoughtful. “So it has.” She stopped and looked at him, as if for the first time. “You’re taller, now.”

And before he could figure out what that meant, or if it even meant anything, they had arrived at the Oedo household.

“Everyone! Guess who I found wandering the streets!”

He shot her back a glare. She made it sound like he was a lost puppy. But then there was no time for glares or corrections as the resident yakuza members emerged from different rooms to greet him. He nodded and bowed and shook hands and answered questions until Kuroda-san laughed and told everyone to give him some room to breathe.

Soon, he was sitting with Yankumi and her grandfather, sipping tea, while everyone else went off to prepare the meal.

“Ah, Sawada, you never answered my question. Where are you staying?”

He gave her a look, which she returned cluelessly. Sighing, he corrected her. “Shin.”

“Huh? Oh. Right. Where are you staying… Shin?” His first name sounded odd coming from her lips, as if it was a foreign word she didn’t quite know how to use.

“With Kuma and his family.” Shin answered, reminding himself that it was all about small steps.

Kuroda-san, who was observing the conversation with great interest, Shin noticed, commented, “Ah, he’s a good kid. He often makes deliveries here, when we feel like ramen. He and Minoru are kindred spirits.”

Shin smiled at the older man. “I can see that.”

“Now, Shin, tell us about Africa.” Kuroda-san said. “I’m sure it was an amazing time for you.”

He nodded. “It was. I learned a lot there.” And the time until dinner was spent with stories and questions and comments.

“I realized a little bit of what we put you through,” Shin told Yankumi while describing his experience with some of the kids he had met. “How did you manage to put up with us for that long?”

“Oh, well, a real teacher always puts her students’ needs ahead of her own, and will sacrifice anything for them!”

“Also, she had no idea what she was getting herself into,” Kuroda-san added in a loud whisper.

“Grandpa!”

Shin laughed. He had missed them. He had missed this. There was so much warmth in this house, he couldn’t help but feel comfortable.

Dinner was served, and it was a real feast. When he asked Minoru where all the food had come from, the larger man had told him that the people in the market were happy to hear that Young Master Shin had returned.

Narrowing his eyes, Shin then asked Minoru, “I’ve been wondering this for a while, but how do they know who I am?”

Suddenly, Minoru, Makoto, and Wakamatsu all looked very guilty, and Kuroda-san rushed to change the subject.

“So… what are your plans now that you’re back in Japan?”

Shin looked suspiciously at the yakuza members, who had all taken an intense interest in the artwork on the ceiling, then answered, “Well, I’m thinking of going to university.”

Yankumi, oblivious to her minions’ reactions, leapt on the idea of Shin’s future. “Oh! For what? Did you find what you wanted to do?”

He met her eyes, then looked down, fighting off a distinct feeling of shyness as he voiced the passion he had found. “I think I might go to law school. There are a lot of people who abuse the law, or lack of it, and it’s usually the people who can’t fight back that get the worst of it. The charity I worked for had to deal with a lot of international legal issues, and I think that’s what got me interested.” He glanced up and saw everyone staring at him. “Anyway, it’s not decided or anything, but that’s what I’m thinking.”

There was a moment of silence, then Yankumi, who looked on the verge of happy tears, ruffled his hair forcefully. “You… you… rugrat you! It’s like you’re growing up!”

Shin unsuccessfully tried to move out of the line of fire. “I have grown up.” He muttered.

“Kumiko, give the boy his dignity.” Kuroda-san finally intervened, to Shin’s relief.

“That sounds like a great goal, Young Master Shin.” Minoru beamed at him, while Tetsu nodded slowly.

“I’m sure you’ll do very well,” Kuroda-san smiled.

Soon, all the food was gone, and the yakuza members bid Shin, Yankumi, and her grandfather goodnight, one by one.

Yankumi had just finished telling Shin about the troublemakers in her new class when the clock struck ten. Shin stretched, then stood up, heart suddenly pounding.

“Well, it’s getting late. I should probably go.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay?” Kuroda-san offered again.

“Grandpa!”

Shin smiled. “It’s alright. It’s not far.” Taking a deep breath, he added as calmly as he could, “Hey, Yankumi, want to walk me out?”

“Oh, of course Sawa- I mean, Shin. Be back in a moment, Grandpa.”

“Oh, you young people take as long as you want. I’ll be heading to bed soon. Good night.” And Kuroda-san winked at Shin over Yankumi’s shoulder, which did not help his nerves at all. He and Yankumi bowed, then walked out to the gate.

Shin sighed and tried to think of how to start a conversation.

“It was so great to see you Sawa… Shin. And I never got to thank you for the postcards.” Yankumi smiled at him, which only made his heart pound louder. “They arrived exactly on my birthday! It’s amazing how fast things are now.”

He nodded, and opted not to mention the fact that he had found out how long it took to send letters from Nigeria to Japan and had carefully coordinated with the postman to send each of them out on the exact date needed. She didn’t need to know things like that.

“Yankumi, I… I wanted to tell you something.” And then she looked at him with those bright, happily naïve eyes, and he suddenly found it much more difficult to speak.

“No need, I already know.” She told him after a few moments of silence had passed. “You came back for a girl, didn’t you?” Shin’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head at that point.

Noticing his reaction, she clapped her hands together and jumped up and down. “You did!? A-ha! A teacher always knows. So, who is she?”

Trying to forgive her for almost giving him a heart attack, he closed his eyes and took several breaths. “Yankumi…”

“Because you know you can tell me anything. I mean, I am your number one teacher, after all, and my passion is helping my students find their paths, and guiding them on their way to love and happiness. Because life should be full of love, and passion, and sweat and tears and-”

“It’s you.”

“And once you’ve found that energy for life, that zeal to reach your goals, that desire to live your dreams, you should pursue it with all your…” She suddenly paused, then tilted her head and asked, “What?”

Shin sighed. “I’m in love with you.”

Yankumi blinked once, twice, then looked at the ground for a moment.

“WHAT!!??”

“Yankumi!” He hissed at her. “Do you want the whole neighborhood to hear?” He didn’t mention that he just had a vision of the yakuza family rushing out in alarm with katanas.

She just stared at him in shock. “W-w-what?” She asked again in a lower tone.

He set his jaw. “Do you need me to repeat it?”

She blinked at him a few more times. “D-don’t tease me like that! Saying that you’re in love with your teacher, making fun of people who actually do have feelings towards-”

“ _Were_. You _were_ my teacher. And I’m not teasing.”

When all she did was stare at him some more, he steeled himself and went on the attack.

“Besides, you didn’t have a problem with Noda and Fujiyama!”

That snapped her out of her daze, anyway. “That was completely different!”

“How?”

“He… she… it was obviously puppy love, an infatuation. And that’s understandably what you’re-”

“This is _not_ an infatuation.” He had never heard his own voice sound so intense. “I spent two _years_ proving to myself that this is not an infatuation, or puppy love, or anything else. And after all that time, I know… I _know_ … that I – love – you.”

And at that moment, staring into her eyes, baring his soul, revealing his love, he realized he had never wanted anything so badly. Seconds passed, and he knew that, despite what he hoped, what he wanted, Yankumi was not mentally or emotionally prepared to give him an answer.

He closed his eyes and sighed. Swallowing, he did the hardest thing he had ever had to do. He gave her time.

“You don’t have to give me an answer right now. I know this is a lot, and I want you to have time to think about it.” He took another breath. “I’ll be in the park Sunday at noon. You can let me know then. And if you don’t come… I’ll understand.”

Shin risked another glance. She hadn’t moved.

“Good night.” He said finally, fighting off waves of disappointment. And because even his self-control wasn’t perfect, he allowed himself one thing.

He kissed her.

It was soft, gentle, and far too quick for Shin’s liking, but he knew he was in serious danger of getting sucker-punched as soon as she recovered from the shock of it. He looked into her eyes, which were even wider than before, then bent towards her ear.

“Kumiko,” he added in whisper, then turned and walked away. He refused to look back. No regrets.

The walk to Kuma’s was full of mental arguments, wondering if he had said too much, not enough, if the kiss was over the line or what Yankumi needed to see him as someone other than a boy who used to be her student.

He opened the door as quietly as he could, and nearly tripped over the sleeping pile of his friends.

“Shin!” Uchi called blearily, shaking the others awake.

“How did it go?” Minami asked.

“What did she say?” Kuma added.

Shin leaned against the door and stared at the floor. “Nothing,” he answered, sounding defeated even to his own ears.

“Huh?” Noda stared at him.

“She didn’t say anything. She’ll tell me on Sunday. Maybe.” Standing straight, he stepped over everyone. “I’m going to bed.”

Worriedly, his friends glanced at each other, then after Shin as his door closed. They had never heard him sound so… lifeless.

* * *

She had no idea how long she stood there. There was one moment when she tried to punch him, then realized that he was already gone. Bringing her hand up, she tentatively touched her lips, as if unsure of what she would find there.

She tried to get angry. What the hell was that? First, he shows up after two years and a couple birthday postcards, then gets all mad when she still thinks of him as a student, then says he loves her, and then…

The way he looked at her after he said that was burned into her memory. She had never seen him like that. She had seen him angry, bitter, sad, hopeless, but never… passionate.

Her treacherous heart started pounding again at the memory of it.

And that kiss… no, she was not at all ready to think about _that_. Dealing with that look was quite enough for the moment, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to think about that either. Especially since that look had… to put it bluntly, _frightened_ her.

_Ah, how the mighty have fallen. Twenty gang members wielding pipes, no sweat – but one guy looks at you like a woman and all of a sudden you’re **scared**._

Yankumi made a face at that thought. That wasn’t strictly true. She had daydreams of confessions and looks of love…

_Yes, but those were dreams. This is a real guy, really confessing his real love. And you have no idea what to do about it._

Her shoulders slumped. She didn’t. She had no idea what to do. For the first time in her life, there was no enthusiastic plan that immediately came to mind.

Shivering, she looked around and realized she was standing out in the cold in the middle of the night. She walked back into the house, unconsciously touching her lips again.

“Ojou! Have you been outside this whole time?” Minoru asked as he and Tetsu looked up from cleaning.

“Fine. Tired. Bed. Night.” She answered as she headed to her room.

Minoru looked after her confusedly, while Tetsu glanced outside with a gaze that might have been jealousy or sadness.

Yankumi did not sleep well.

She was either too hot, or too cold, or her pillow was too flat, or her mattress was lumpy. When she did sleep, it was plagued with visions of Shinohara glancing at Yoshizumi, then he turned into Shin and suddenly she was Yoshizumi and he was looking at her and about to…

Then she woke up.

After an hour or so of thinking in circles, she realized that she had no idea what to do because she had no experience with any of this.

When Tetsu had confessed to her, she had been surprised and caught off guard, but she still knew the answer. She didn’t love him, not that like that.

But with Shin… she didn’t have an answer. And she had no idea how to find one. What she needed was someone who knew about these things. Who was experienced with love, and being a teacher, and dealing with students.

_“You didn’t have a problem with Noda and Fujiyama!”_

That was it! Fujiyama-sensei would know how to deal with this! She scrambled for her phone and scrolled through her contacts.

“A-ha!” She hit the ‘call’ button as soon as she found it, then anxiously waited as it rang.

On the fifth ring, a very sleepy voice picked up. “Whaa?”

“Fujiyama-sensei?” She asked eagerly.

“Yamaguchi? Why are you calling this early?” The voice whined.

“Hmm?” Yankumi looked at her clock and realized that it was 6:45 on a Saturday morning. “Oh, sorry. I… I’ll call back later.”

“No, no, it’s fine.” A yawn echoed through the line. “I’ve got a date today, so I need to start getting ready anyway. What’s up?”

“Umm…” And suddenly she realized that she had no idea how to ask. “I, uh…”

“Let me guess. You need love advice and came to me.” She could _hear_ Fujiyama smiling smugly.

“Well, you’ve had experience with… love, right?”

“Oh, of course. Just the other day I met the cutest university student, but I had already agreed to go out with his professor and I thought how awkward would it be if he… wait – did someone confess to you?”

“Umm…”

“Did _Sawada_ finally confess to you?”

There was a resounding thud as Yankumi fell off her bed.

“Yamaguchi? Are you okay?”

“How the _hell_ did you know that?” She demanded as she sat up.

“Language, Yamaguchi. Well, we all knew it was coming, and honestly I thought he was going to tell you after graduation, but I guess he was waiting or something-”

“What do you mean ‘we all knew’?”

“… I mean that we all knew. Kawashima and I could have sworn he was going to tell you before he left for Afric-”

“ _Everyone_ knew?” Yankumi choked out.

“Well, yeah… wait, did you not know? You really didn’t see this coming? Wow. I mean, I knew you were a bit dense, but this is taking it to a whole new level.”

“ _How would I have seen this coming?”_ She grit out through her teeth. Was everyone living in a different reality than she was?

“Really? Did you pay any attention at Shirokin?” Before Yankumi could find an appropriate response to that, Fujiyama carried on. “I mean, who did you call when there was trouble?”

“Well, I… guess I called Sawada, but-”

“And who convinced the class to go along with your ideas?”

“They were good ideas!” Fujiyama waited. “And… I guess Sawada helped…”

“Who went after you when you were upset?”

“Okay, I see what you’re getting at…”

“Who organized the entire rebellion of 3-D in order to save your job?”

She couldn’t say anything to that.

Fujiyama sighed. “Alright. So, he confessed to you. What did you tell him?”

“Well… nothing really. He said that I could answer him tomorrow.”

“He gave you _space?”_ The other woman sounded shocked. “Damn.”

Yankumi was about to point out that she was the one using bad language now when Fujiyama continued, “Who’d have thought he’d be that mature? Hmm, now that I think about it, he was always so good looking. I wonder…”

“Fujiyama-sensei!”

“Oh, right, sorry. You have first dibs. He’s your boyfriend.”

“I do not have dibs and he’s certainly not my…” She couldn’t quite bring herself to say the word.

“Alright, what did you want to ask me?”

Yankumi voiced the question that had been plaguing her all night. “What do I do?”

“Ah, you want to know whether he’s decent boyfriend material. Boyfriended or Friend zoned!”

“Um…”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got the perfect thing.” There was some movement on the other end, and then the distinct sound of glossy pages turning. “Here we are! Okay, question one – how long have you known each other? Oh, I know that one, 3 + years, which is a score of-”

“Is this a quiz from a _magazine_?”

Silence. “Next question! Do you notice him flirting with other girls when you’re around?”

“I don’t think that this is going to help me that-”

“Answer the question! A. Yes all the time, B. He does it make me jealous, C. Only sometimes, or D. Never?”

“Um… never?”

“Good choice! Next – has he met your family? A. I don’t think he knows my last name, B. Once, I think, C. He’s met them a few times, D. They know and love him.”

“Well, I guess that one’s D.”

“Have you discussed serious things together? Don’t worry about the choices, just tell me and I’ll pick.”

“Well, we’ve talked about his future, and he knows about my family…”

“Okay! Does he help you out when you need it? Pssh, I know this one. Ooo, this is the important one. Do you find him attractive?”

Yankumi was about to make it very clear that she certainly did not – but then she remembered the look, the kiss…

“Yamaguchi?”

“Um, he is – was – my student! It would be entirely inappropriate for me to think of him like that and what does that word mean exactly anyway because it’s not very clear whether we’re just talking about compared to normal people or to movie stars or to Takakura Ken, because that wouldn’t really be fair to most people-”

Fujiyama, who had been absorbing this breathless speech, suddenly interrupted with an amazed epiphany.

“It that a _yes_?”

Yankumi froze. “No?”

“Aha! I knew it! Alright, let me just add up the score…”

There were sounds of scribbling and pages turning, then everything stopped with one low, respectful, “Damn.”

“What? What?!” Yankumi demanded, wanting to know her score, even if it was from a girly magazine.

“I’ve never gotten this answer before.” She cleared her throat and started to read. “Congratulations. You’ve discovered one of the few good men out there. A guy who gets along with your family, treats you well, helps you out, and is attractive to boot, is incredibly hard to find. If he’s as kind, caring, thoughtful, sincere, and respectful as you think he is, why are you not dating him already Yamaguchi?”

“What? How does the magazine know my name?”

“The last bit was me. Why not?”

“Well, he’s… he’s… five years younger than me! It would be weird, right?”

“Hang on, let me use the Standard Creepiness Rule.”

“Okay, I’m a math teacher, I _know_ that can’t real.”

“Is so. Look it up. Ok, if you’re 25, then divide by two and add seven, which equals… 19 and a half! You’re golden!”

“What?”

“Oh, and let’s do the inverse for Sawada. Let’s see, he’s 20, minus seven, times two… 26! It’s fine either way. Go get him! Oh, goodness, I have half an hour until my facial. I’ve got to go.”

“Oh, um, okay. Thanks…” _I guess._

“No problem. And Yamaguchi – good luck.”

As the call ended, Yankumi sat back on her bed and considered what she had learned.

 _Now_ what was she going to do?

* * *

Kuroda Ryuichiro was worried about his granddaughter.

She and Tetsu were slowly healing from their respective disappointments, and lately she had been just as cheerful as ever. She worried about her students of course, but she was always invariably sure things would work out.

But today… she had spent breakfast in her room, then had sat on the porch in a daze the rest of the afternoon. He knew it had something to do with Shin, and could take a fairly good guess what had happened the other night. This was where her all male family couldn’t help that much.

He looked at her as she sat in the sunshine. So confident and ready to take on obstacles she encountered as a teacher, she was woefully unprepared for obstacles on the way of love. He sighed. He didn’t believe in interfering with her personal life, (he had learned that lesson the hard way with Kumiko’s mother), but he did wish to help in whatever way he could.

Returning from the kitchen with some cups and sake, he seated himself next to his granddaughter.

“Ah, Kumiko. Would you like a drink?”

She gave him a small smile and nodded. As he poured, he watched her carefully out of the corner of his eye.

“Fine day,” he commented, looking at the sky.

“Grandpa…”

“Hm?”

She looked down and sighed. “You know about re… rela… re-”

“Relationships?” He asked, then watched her stare at the ground uncomfortably. “You mean, business relationships?”

Her head shot up. “Yes! Exactly! _Business_ relationships.”

Kuroda smiled. “Well, I’ve handled some in my time. What would you like to know?”

“Well, say that someone told you they… wanted to be your business partner. And you’d never really thought of that person that way before and now that you’ve thought about it, you realize that maybe… well, you don’t want to say no, but you think that they haven’t thought through some things and…”

“You have reservations about it?”

“Yes! Reservations! Business reservations!”

He nodded wisely. “I see. Well, I’d suggest that the next time you see this potential business partner, you talk about your reservations.”

“What?! No! I can’t tell hi- them!”

“Why not?”

“Well, because they’re…” Kumiko looked uncomfortable.

“Personal?” He asked gently. She nodded at the ground.

“Well, that changes things.” Kumiko glanced up. “Now you _have_ to talk about them.”

“Ehh? But, I just told you-”

“Kumiko.”

She hesitantly met his gaze.

“The key to any good relationship, business or otherwise, is being able to talk with each other. If these reasons are important to you, then it’s even more important to tell this person about them. Put yourself in this person’s shoes. Asking someone to… be your business partner isn’t easy. And if that someone says ‘no’, with no explanation at all, I imagine you would feel very hurt.” He raised an eyebrow. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Thoroughly chastised, she nodded her agreement.

“You can make a list, if you like. But these things must be done in a way that respects both people’s feelings.” Kuroda looked at his granddaughter, then decided he should let that sink in for a while. Standing up slowly, he collected the bottle and cups and started back into the house.

“Grandpa…” He turned to see her looking as unsure as he’d ever seen her. “What if… they laugh?” She asked very softly.

He smiled gently. “He won’t.”

And as he walked back into the living room he finished to himself, “Or if he does, he won’t be laughing long. Or breathing long, for that matter.”

He liked Shin, he really did. But no one humiliated Kuroda Ryuichiro’s granddaughter and lived to tell the tale.

* * *

Shin paced around the park once more. He was fairly certain that he would wear a path down by the time Yankumi got here.

_If she even comes…_

No. He shook his head. Like he told himself on the plane, ifs and hypotheticals would not help at all. And it wasn’t as if she was late. He just happened to arrive three hours early. _Like an idiot_ , his internal voice commented. _A **desperate** idiot_.

He ignored it and continued walking. The day before had been filled with valiant efforts by his friends to cheer him up, or even take his mind off of what was coming. He did his best to act like he was interested in pool, or sushi, or video games, (he didn’t even try for karaoke, though), but he had a feeling the others could still tell.

 In order to spare everyone the effort of trying to distract him this morning, he left for the park as soon as he got up. So here he was, walking and waiting until noon rolled around. And time had never passed so slowly in his life. By the time two hours had passed, he was starting to think he was losing his mind. He kept thinking that every woman with glasses or jerseys or pigtails was Yankumi. He also could have sworn he heard a bush whispering about him.

Forcing himself to calm down, he sat on the bench, closed his eyes and counted slowly to a hundred. When he opened his eyes, he gave himself another hundred counts to look around, then closed his eyes again. As the clock struck twelve, he counted along with the chimes, then counted another hundred, then looked around to see a woman with a half ponytail and jean jacket looking around.

_See, you counted and she came. Wait – she came!_

He leapt off the bench and strolled as quickly and casually as he could, fighting off a giant grin. When she saw him, he tried to read her expression, but she masked too quickly.

“Yankumi… you came.” Was all he could say when he reached her. She nodded, then spoke formally.

“Sawada Shin. I have a few items of discussion that I would like to… discuss. With you.”

He blinked a few times, then motioned to the bench. As they sat, he watched her stare at him for a moment, then fumble around her pocket and pull out a sheet of paper.

“I think that, um, there might be a few things you had not, um, considered when you… when we talked the other night. I would like you to consider them now. Ahem. The three items of discussion are as follows…” She kept glancing at him over the top of her paper. Shin tilted his head and guessed that this was somehow Kuroda-san’s work.

“First, I’m five years older than you.”

“Four years and ten months. Plus, it’s within the Standard Creepiness Rule.”

He bit back a grin as she glanced to the side and muttered, “Dammit! How does everyone know about this? I’m a math teacher, for heaven’s sake!”

Meeting his gaze once again, she cleared her throat and looked at the paper.

“Second… I have no intention of taking over my family’s business.” Biting her lip, she continued. “But, that will always be a possibility. And even if I don’t, I can’t cut ties with them, and I don’t want to involve someone with that life if they don’t want-”

“Yankumi.” She looked up to see him smiling softly. “You’ve met my family, right? I’d pick yours any day, yakuza or not. And I’d never ask you to give up your family.”

Hearing the truth in his voice, she nodded and tried to move on to the third item. “Th- third is… um… that I’m not…” and then she mumbled something so softly that Shin couldn’t make it out.

“You’re not…?” He repeated, trying to hear what she was saying.

“I’m not…hmhee.”

“What?”

“Hmhee.”

“What?”

“Sexy!” She finally shouted, then clapped her hands over her mouth. Taking a breath and staring firmly at the ground, she spoke in one breath. “I’m not tall or sexy or pretty or even normal looking.”

“Yankumi,”

“I’m short and skinny and plain and flat and dorky and-”

“Kumiko!”

He finally startled her into looking at him. Taking a breath, Shin was very, very careful not to smile at how ridiculous she was being, because he had never seen her this vulnerable before. Ever.

“First,” He told her, meeting her eyes so she could see he meant it. “You. Are beautiful.” And he held that gaze until she started to believe him. “And I’m sure you could be sexy if you wanted.”

Well, _that_ sent a blush right down to her roots.

“Furthermore, I am not in love with you just because of your looks. I’m in love with you because you have the biggest heart of anyone I have ever known, because you think the best of everyone, no matter what, and because you’re willing to sacrifice anything for the people you care about.”

He bent down so he could peek under her hanging head. Once she glanced at him again, he made every effort not to grin, and asked, “So. Now that we have discussed these items of discussion, have you made a decision?”

She returned her gaze to the ground and mumbled something new.

“Hm hff hmfaffr.”

Biting his lip and reminding himself to be patient, he attempted to clarify.

“What was that?”

“We’d have to ask Grandfather.” She repeated a little louder.

Shin froze, then looked at her with wide eyes. “Is that a yes?”

For some reason, this made her blush more, then nod once.

Letting his grin stretch across his face, he tilted her face up with a crooked finger.

“Well, then,” he said, and kissed her.

This kiss ended sooner than Shin liked because suddenly the bush down the way started yelling at them.

“Woohoo! Shin!”

“Ew! I don’t need to see that!”

“Yankumi, don’t make me jealous!”

“Get a room, you two!”

Both he and Yankumi stopped and turned towards the bush with equally murderous looks.

“Shit! They found us!”

“Now you’ve done it!”

“Run, guys, run!”

“Wait for meee!”

Shin took a step towards them, then Yankumi’s hand stopped him. “Shin, wait.”

He looked back at the love of his life, who suddenly grinned and said, “I claim Kuma.”

Shin nodded. He was aiming for Minami anyways. After stealing one more kiss, he started running. And as he chased his idiotic friends through the park with Yankumi running by his side, he realized that this was the best moment of his life.


	17. Surprises and Specific Questions

**Welcome back for more ShinKumi goodness! This is technically the end, though I have an idea for a sequel that I might submit on here as a new story. It’s been a great journey, and thank you all for being part of it. =)**

**Be sure to review if you have questions or ideas, or just want to say hi!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

 

“Why?”

Shin blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You’re asking for my blessing. Why should I give it to you?” Kuroda-san raised his eyebrow.

“Umm…” Shin was confused. This wasn’t how he planned it going at all.

“You love her, don’t you?”

“Yes.” After a thought, he added, “Sir.”

“Why?” Kuroda-san repeated, and his brows furrowed even more.

Shin’s mind raced. _C’mon, you do love her. It should be easy to come up with reasons,_ His inner voice commented unhelpfully.

But for the life of him, he couldn’t come up with anything that didn’t sound like an insult.

_She’s unbelievably gullible._

_She believes in the good in people to the point of stupidity._

_She’s ridiculously simple-minded._

_She lives in her own weird version of reality._

_She has an enthusiastically clueless one-track way of thinking._

_She latches on to causes she knows nothing about._

_She sticks her nose into everyone’s business._

_She cares too much about everything._

And yet… as insulting as they sounded, those were the reasons he loved her. If she wasn’t clueless and gullible and nosy and enthusiastic and caring… she wouldn’t be Yankumi.

As he thought of these things, his expression slowly turned from panic to a slow, soft smile. When Kuroda-san saw that unconscious, oddly tender smile, he grinned and decided to stop giving Shin a hard time.

“Alright. I suppose that answers my question.”

Shin looked up in confusion. “But sir, I haven’t – just give me a moment and-”

“I’ve made my decision.” He announced in a firm voice, just to watch Shin’s face combine both fear and challenge. His voice gentled as he finished, “You have my blessing, Sawada Shin. Now go.”

With an expression of hope that became ecstatic, Shin bowed deeply, then headed for the door.

“Shin.”

The young man looked back.

“You treat her right.”

He grinned. “All my life, sir. All my life.”

.

.

.

“Where are we going?!”

“I told you, it’s a secret.”

“But I can’t see!”

Sigh. “That’s the point of a blindfold, Yankumi.”

“Are we there yet?”

“Almost.”

“Achoo! Where are we? It smells like dust… and boy.”

“That’s… oddly accurate. Ok, there are six steps here.”

“One, two, three, four, five – Ow!”

“I said six. Not five and then walk forward.”

“If I could see, we wouldn’t have this problem.”

“You need your eyes to count? What kind of math teacher are you?”

“The kind that kills people when they blindfold her and don’t say where they’re going.”

“Alright, alright, we’re here. Hold still.”

The blindfold came off with a flourish, and Shin waited for Yankumi to look around.

“We’re… in a gym.” She sounded less than enthused. He waited some more.

“Wait… this is… this is Shirokin’s old gym! I thought it closed down!”

“It did. But their security is horribly lax.”

“Shin…” She turned to him, not understanding. “Why are we in Shirokin’s gym?”

“Well, there’s a lot of memories here. For instances right… hang on, a little more to the left… there is where you were standing the first time I saw you.”

Yankumi stared.

“Right down there is where you saved Kuma’s ass from getting expelled. Up here is where you declared that you would get all of us to graduate.”

He looked at her with a small grin. “I thought you were lying, just like all the other adults in my life. But the way you said it, the way you looked at me, made me think that maybe, just maybe, you were different.”

She tilted her head at him, touched, but still confused.

“This is also where a boy who had been picked on and bullied every day for a year, came to face his fears. Because you taught him how.”

He couldn’t help a small chuckle at the next one. “You also stood right about there in that ridiculous cheerleader outfit and did a choreographed cheer in front of everyone.”

Yankumi immediately blushed and started to protest. “N-now, I was just trying to help-”

Shin put up a hand to forestall her and moved on. “And right through those doors is where we all came to fight for your job. Because we realized that we couldn’t lose you. And because I realized… that I loved you.”

Her eyes widened. No matter how many times he said it, she still seemed surprised – even more so with discovering when he first realized it.

He moved to the center of the stage. “And I stood right here for my graduation speech and announced to several hundred people,” Here he looked over to meet her eyes, “that you were the only person I could trust with my whole heart.”

Walking back over to where she stood, blinking back tears, Shin took a deep breath and felt around his pocket.

“I also brought you here to make a new memory.” Trying to ignore the fact that his heart was attempting to escape by pounding its way out of his chest, he knelt down on one knee. “And to ask you a question.”

And because she was Yankumi, instead the tearful, surprised look Shin was expecting, she simply looked puzzled. “Why do you need to kneel to ask me a question?”

He sighed. “Because it’s a specific question.”

“What kind of specific question requires you to- oh. Oooh. OOOOHHHH.”

Taking advantage of the fact that she was now in shock and likely to be quiet for a few minutes, Shin started his speech. “Yamaguchi Kumiko – knowing you has changed my life. You’ve taught me so many things – not as my teacher, but as a person. You taught me to value friendships, to protect others, and to never, ever give up on someone. You were the first person I ever really trusted, even before I knew I loved you. You make me happy just to be around you, and I want to be with you always. For my whole life.”

There was a small squeak, which Shin took as a sign that his time was nearly up. “So, Yamaguchi Kumiko, will you marry me?”

He held open the small box, which contained a gold ring with a delicate diamond. He didn’t think it was possible, but her eyes got even wider.

“W-w-w… _why_?” She finally got out.

Shin sighed. He was sure that he was the only man in the world who got ‘why?’ as an answer to ‘will you marry me?’. To be fair, he was the only man in the world proposing to Yankumi, so he might have expected it.

“Why do I want to marry you?” She nodded. “Did you not just hear my wonderful speech? It’s because I love you. Why do you think I’ve been dating you?”

“I… I don’t know…” She mumbled at the floor.

Standing, he moved closer. “Are you saying no?” He asked, very softly.

“No! No, no, no. It’s not that… it’s just…”

“You don’t think that I should be throwing away my future by marrying into a yakuza clan?”

She looked up with the startled expression that meant he had read her mind. Knowing her as he did, it wasn’t nearly as impressive as it sounded. “I’ve told you. My future is mine, and I can do what I want with it. Like spend the rest of it with you.”

When she glanced down, still unsure, he stifled a sigh and changed tack. “Alright, let me ask a different question. Do you love me?”

She nodded at the floor. He coughed significantly, which caused her to raise her head a bit. “Yes.” She said quietly.

“Then marry me. We can argue about details later.”

Yankumi looked up to point out that they were going to argue about the ‘details’ of his future right now, then saw that look in his eyes. The look that told her in no uncertain terms how much he loved her, wanted her. She fixed her eyes elsewhere, trying to get her heart to beat normally. That look made it very hard for her to think rationally, and he knew it too, the jerk.

“So… will you?”

When she cautiously glanced back, his eyes were softer, almost pleading. Even though she thought it was crazy, he really did want to marry her.

 _Dammit_. “Yes.” She told him.

She would never forget the size of the smile that appeared on his face. He slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her for a good, long while.

Breaking off the kiss suddenly, leaving Yankumi dazed and rather breathless, Shin looked at his watch. “We have time. Let’s walk around a bit.”

So they wandered the dusty, abandoned halls of Shirokin together. Eventually, they made their way to 3-D’s classroom. He motioned for her to enter first, then followed.

It had been repainted since Shin’s day, but had been decorated with new graffiti, with some of the older art peeking through the peeling paint. The desks had been pushed to the edges, instead of the rows she was used to, but she still smiled at all the memories this classroom held.

“SURPRISE!!!!”

She screamed and leapt back, taking cover behind Shin. As she watched, boys emerged from lockers, from the front and back doors, and from the upper level.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” All her original students shouted, revealing banners and signs, as well as showering them both with steamers and confetti.

“Oh, and happy birthday by the way,” Shin said, smiling at her flabbergasted look.

Everyone was there. Noda, Minami, Kuma, Uchi, Oishi, Hazama, Matsudaira, every student from her first class. While Yankumi blinked in shock, the boys’ eyes not-so-subtly glanced at Shin, who bit back a grin and nodded.

“AND HAPPY ENGAGEMENT!” They bellowed, pulling out more signs and rolling down the second part of the banner.

 “What?!” She shouted, then glared at Shin.

“Don’t blame him, Yankumi,” Kuma said, bringing her some potstickers while others laid out plates of food.

“Yeah,” Uchi added. “He specifically told us that this was this was a birthday party, and no one was supposed to mention the fact that he proposed.”

“So that’s what we told everyone.” Minami concluded with a grin.

“How the hell did you know I would say yes?” She hissed at the man in question.

He shrugged. “Just lucky, I guess. Hey Oda, save some of the cake for me.”

As he left and was surrounded by old classmates, Yankumi stared after him, mouth opening and closing without words.

“Don’t be too mad at him. It was his idea for us all to get together for your birthday. We only found out about the engagement thing today.” Noda informed her, bringing over a piece of cake. “I’d never seen him so nervous – well, except when he went to ask you out. He was absurdly nervous then.”

“H-how did he know about…” She gestured helplessly at the whole gathering.

Noda laughed. “He’s knows you better than anyone, Yankumi. Apparently even you.” He flashed a grin, then said, “Oh, be right back. Hey Ami-chan! I’ve been meaning to ask – do you have sisters?”

If Noda had stayed a few moments longer, he would have seen that his words had shocked Yankumi into paralysis.

_“He knows you better than anyone. Even you.”_

Suddenly everything clicked into place. He was right. He was _right_. Setting aside the fact that Noda had picked up on a rather sharp insight, which was a minor miracle, he had realized something Yankumi hadn’t. Shin knew her better than anyone.

He knew her moods.

While they may have thought they were being sneaky, she noticed that every time she was angry or upset, the members of her household either covertly texted Shin for help, or (since he was nearly always over) shot him pleading looks as Yankumi attempted to strangle them. Shin would sigh, same her name in that tone of voice – and suddenly, she didn’t feel as murderous. Whenever she was frustrated or disheartened about her new students, he would come sit with her. Sometimes he wouldn’t say anything, sometimes he would start talking about how he had gradually come to see that she was different from all the other adults, even if he didn’t show it, but either way, just his presence made her feel better.

He teased her.

No one else ever teased her. Her grandfather would make a gentle joke here and there, but the yakuza members respected/feared her too much, the other teachers didn’t know her that well, and her students often were just being mean. However, Shin had no such problems. When she had muttered something about what was the point of Shin having his own apartment if he practically lived there, he leaned over his law school homework and asked if that was an invitation to move in. She nearly choked on her tea and could feel her face turn bright lobster red as she attempted to clarify what she meant.

He knew what she was thinking.

That was one of the more infuriating traits Shin had. He always seemed to be able to read her, no matter what. This party, for instance. She hadn’t ever told him that she wished she knew how her original students were doing. But somehow he knew. She tried to think back. Months ago, she had been worrying about her current students’ futures, and had said something about being sure all her other students had done well. But then, she had wondered if they really were doing alright, if they had found jobs, found love, found their own paths. And just from that, he had known what she was thinking, he had planned all of this months ahead, and had done all this to make her happy.

“Oi.” She turned and got poked in the cheek. “Baka.” Shin smiled at her. “Stop thinking so much. It’s your party, after all.”

When she simply looked at him, still absorbing her revelation, he tilted his head and asked, “Are you still worrying about that?” He motioned towards her finger.

“No, it’s just…”

“Aren’t you even a little happy?”

“Of course I am!”

“Even though you’re planning on arguing with me later?” He teased her. When she couldn’t come up with an answer to that, he smiled and said, “Well, I’m planning on winning all those arguments, so imagine how happy _I_ am.” His smile grew wider.

She started to gesture at him, then saw her ring catch the sunlight. As she stared at it, she realized that he had proposed to her, knowing she would argue, and instead of being hurt or offended, he took it in stride and still loved her for it. He had planned a party for her, fulfilling an unspoken wish, at the risk of being humiliated if she had said no, because it would make her happy.

Suprising both herself and Shin, she reached up and pecked him on the lips.

“I don’t deserve you,” she mumbled quietly, then left to grab some cake. Or tried to, anyway.

His surprise quickly transformed into a very pleased, very masculine smile, and he swooped his arm around her waist and grabbed a nearby drink.

“To Yankumi!” He toasted, and everyone else joined in.

“To Yankumi!”

“For making all of our lives better.” He took a sip, then leaned down and kissed her.

As catcalls and sounds of disgust echoed around the room, Yankumi decided that maybe she would let him win those arguments. After all, they could argue about other things later. Much later. For forever.

At that thought, she smiled, and kissed him back.


End file.
